Beyond the Adventure
by Shadow54
Summary: It is after the battle with final hazard. Shadow returns, along with Robotnik and Metal Sonic. Amy does the unexpected, and great changes await our heroes. Updates will be OFTEN
1. The Shadow of War

Authors Note: Disclaimer: You all know the drill, Sonic the hedgehog is not owned by me in any way. Nor do any other of the characters in this story. However, Melody, the green hedgehog in this story, is copyrighted to me. In other words DON'T STEAL HER. It is recommended, that you have played Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 to understand the story. Other than that, Enjoy.  
  
The time is after the battle, Sonic the hedgehog landed in the city of Station Square. Normally, this would have been a time of great celebration and joy amongst the fighters, but since the loss of Shadow, no one was to cheery, especially Sonic. "He was what he was, a great and heroic hedgehog, who gave his life for this planet, Shadow the hedgehog." The words rang through Sonic's mind, as he tried to bring some comfort to himself, and everyone else, who was feeling down. The space capsule opened, and immediately, everyone crowded in, cheering and yelling joyously, glad that their heroes were home. Sonic pushed through the crowd (or more like spin dashed) and quickly plowed through the mass gathering, and headed toward the mystic ruins, his buddy Tails close behind.  
  
"Sonic! Its not like you to just ignore all of the glory, what gives?!" "Not feeling good Tails, it doesn't feel much like a victory."  
  
Tails landed when Sonic finally decided to stop running. He sighed, and allowed his tails to relax and resume their normal flicking motion.  
  
"Yeah..you're right."  
  
Settling beneath a tree, Sonic watched forlornly out. Since when did Shadow affect him so much? Why it seemed like hours ago they were out each others throats, trying to prove one another as the "faker". Tails kept Sonic company, but he soon went to his laboratory to work on his cyclone, he was ready to test a new add-on to the walker, so that when it was transformed into the tornado 2, it would hold 4, not just one.  
  
Mean while...back into the Jungle of this mystic ruins...  
  
"BAH! Curse that hedgehog! CURSE HIM! Always the hero, always the one to stop my plans and prove me wrong!!!" a very disgruntled Eggman walked in, not very proud of his attempted to dominate the world, only to almost destroy the entire planet and himself. And what was worse, he had been forced to pair up with the very menace that caused him so much turmoil. Flying in his "egg globe", he soon spotted his base which was located just on the outskirts of an ancient ruin, which could be seen upon the cliff it sat on. Entering the bridge, he stomped all the way down, cursing to himself momentarily while gathering his faults. This would not be the end, oh no, he wouldn't allow it to be.  
  
As if things weren't going well enough for the Dr. already, he tripped and fell hard upon entering the main area of the base, falling in front of a glass capsule. "GRRRRRRRRR!! Son of a." Something caught his eye. Looking at the glass capsule, he realized that his answer, was, and always had been in his very base. His mouth twisted into a toothy grin, which was as disgusting as, well Robotnik. "I think its time I revive....an old friend." An evil cold laugh escaped his mouth as he pressed the button to release the prisoner inside. Red shoes with white on the bottom stepped out, its metal quills stiff and sharp. Its eyes momentarily flickered, but where soon clear, and were as magma.  
  
"Metal Sonic online, how can I serve you, my master?"  
  
**Mean while, in Station Square**  
  
Amy had returned to her apartment, glad to be away from that bustle. "Left me behind again.." She thought, as she settled down on her magenta couch. She loved Sonic, and would do anything to be with him at this moment. But once again, the blue glory hog hadn't said so much as a "good bye" to Amy. Every time he did it, it really hurt her. "I guess he really will never love me..and I did say I needed to be more independent." The thought brought a glazed subdued look to her face. Exhaustion filled her, and soon, she slipped off to sleep.  
  
****Meanwhile***  
  
A shadow of a fat egg like man stands upon one of the many hills of the Mystic Ruins, over looking a certain hedgehog, who has fallen asleep.  
  
"Sleep well...my adversary." Said the cold voice. "You will certainly need it, for the pain you will suffer, will be unbearable." A sinister laugh erupted into the air as he walked off, to finish his upgrades on metal sonic.. 


	2. The Conflict Beggins

Author's Note: Disclaimer in Chapter 1  
  
****Story****  
  
Down in the peaceful debts of the mystic ruins, did Sonic sleep. His emerald eyes over taken by his blue lids, immersing him into a dreamy slumber. Tails, who had long finished working on his walker, had come out to relax beside his idle, unaware of the speech the Eggman muttered only a few minutes ago. The sun was sinking below the distant mountains.  
  
"Its just so peaceful here" Thought Tails. Indeed, it was peaceful. The calm tranquility of the forest was enough to subdue anybody into a restful stance. Even Sonic came here from some relaxation.  
  
It seemed like hours, but Sonic finally began to stir. Opening his eyes, he sat up and brushed the dirt off his quills.  
  
"Tails?"  
  
"I'm right here Sonic"  
  
"Oh alright, did anything happen?"  
  
"Nothing really, except that I finished the work of my cyclone. Say, I know it isn't much to worry about, but have you seen Amy since this whole ordeal."  
  
Sonic shot Tails a sarcastic look. "I've only been sleeping and resting here this whole time, unless I magically slept walked to her apartment."  
  
Tails chuckled. "Now that would be funny."  
  
Sonic scowled. That Amy. Always following him and crushing him with her bear hugs. The thought of it made his bones hurt. Standing and stretching his legs and taking a fresh breath of air, he turned to his partner, who seemed to be in distant thought all of sudden. "Hey, whats up big guy? Something wrong?" Tails immediately snapped from his train of thought, but not without a quick glance around him. "Nothing, I thought I was being watched." Sonic smirked. "Not a thing to worry 'bout lil' bro, I'm sure its just your imagination, not to mention this forest was teeming with animals. Say! How about we go off to Station square and hang out on the beach, I could sure use a little R and R, and then maybe we could check out Twinkle Park." Tails brightened up at this remark and quickly whirled his tails while Sonic revved up his legs. They both sped off into the distance, not even bothering to take the train, running felt so much better. Then, in the trees, to red eyes flickered and the narrowed. A robotic like laugh is heard as a shadow is seen moving betwixt the trees, following the 2 oblivious heroes, who are just trying to relax.  
  
**Station Square*  
  
Amy, who had already awoken from her long nap, had also taken to the beach, not knowing the hedgehog she worshiped was on his way. The waves lapped at the shore, and a killer whale jumped in the distance. Amy, though she was no where near as fast as Sonic, enjoyed a good run, was busy running down the board walk, trying to keep up with the whale swimming along side her. Soon, she tired of this little game, and settled on one of the beach chairs under a umbrella. Leaning back and resting her pink head against the chair, she could not help but think of him...Sonic. A smile crept upon her face as she pictured herself running at the blue hedgehogs side. The love in her eyes never fading. Ah would that not be a dream come true. But Sonic had never once said he loved her, or even showed that much friendship, only that he was constantly annoyed by her.  
  
Sighing, she was about to drift off into another cat nap, when a sonic boom nearly knocked her off her chair. Turning her head abruptly, she saw tails and him stop near the shore, each of them holding a nice rental surf board. Every urge in her body told him to run and grab ahold of him, and beg him to be with her all day, but something told her not to, and that the consequences could be grave if she did such an action. So instead, she watched him, pulling a few moves on the salt water waves. "That hedgehog never misses a beat." She thought, leaning more into the surprisingly comfortable beach chair.  
  
Funny. In the middle of all this fun and relaxation, Amy couldn't help but think of all the scary moments she had experienced with Sonic, Tails, and the whole entire crew. It occurred to her that Sonic, though he found her annoying, had never once failed her. And she, she had failed him so many times it was miserable. That thought struck her pretty hard. Even though Amy should have been considered the hero in so many situations, this thought drowned all of that thought out, and replaced it with a sadness she never felt before. It also dawned on her how hopeless it was to have Sonic as her own. That cut through her like a knife, and she didn't know it, but tears were streaming down her eyes.  
  
She looked away, and tried to hold the emotion back, but it came, and she began to sob, trying to desperately keep it private, but a certain fox had supreme hearing.  
  
"Hey Sonic, do you hear something.?"  
  
"What?!" Sonic yelled skidding to the halt on the sandy terrain. "Aw man, you missed my triple spin!" Sonic smiled comically, but it quickly vanished when he saw the seriously in Tails's. "Buddy?"  
  
"Don't you hear that?"  
  
"Hear what?"  
  
"That crying noise."  
  
Sonic stiffed his royal blue ears, and he caught it. It was faint, but audible over the crash of the waves. "I know that sound.." he thought, setting his board down. Immediately, he wished he hadn't said that, cause his green eyes caught the sight of Amy, crying alone on a not to distant table. Tails, who also just spotted Amy stood silent to. Even though they liked Amy as a friend, it was one of these days (like so many others) that didn't want to see her. Sonic sighed, and held up his hands. "Well I can't just let her cry." He walked over and sat across from her. "Amy..whats the matter? Are you ok?"  
  
The sound of Sonic's voice scarred the holy hell out of Amy, who could of leapt out of her fur then and now. "Oh.Sonic, hi, nothing is wrong, just a bad thought that is all.." She trailed off when her eyes met his, the love and joy was silently creeping back, but when she thought of her last predicament, it immediately shattered. Without warning, the pink hedgehog leaped of her feet and dropped to her knees before Sonic.  
  
"I'm sorry Sonic, for everything....everything.I'm sorry for just being...ME!"  
  
Tears streamed down her face and she quickly turned and ran. Sonic was to shocked to say anything, and was taken back by Amy's actions. Tails too, didn't say anything. Even his tails stopped flicking up and down. Sonic quickly revved up his legs, and was about to chase after him, when a scream from Tails stopped him dead in his tracks. Turning abruptly, Sonic's eyes widened in horror, when he saw Tails, gripped by the throat by Metal Sonic..  
  
A hellish look appeared on the blue hedgehog's face. "LET HIM GO!" he shouted, his white gloved hand curled into a fist, that looked like it was ready to do some serious metal twisting. Metal Sonic smiled, a silvery evil smile.  
  
"No can do..bro."  
  
Sonic grew angry. "IF YOU HURT HIM...I'LL..  
  
But he was abruptly cut off by Metal Sonic.  
  
"I have no reason to harm this worthless pest. However, let me, jab you in the stomach, as hard as I can, and then, I'll leave...at least...for now."  
  
Sonic was quivering with anger, but he knew he had no choice. Tails had already blacked out from lack of oxygen, so now was the time to act. Closing his eyes, Sonic raised his hands. "OHHHH just do it."  
  
Metal Sonic walked forward and jabbed Sonic so hard, his skin was cut. Sonic howled in pain as he fell backward into the white sand. Another thud signaled the release of Tails.  
  
"As promised..I will leave....for now."  
  
With a toothy grin and a flash of blue, the mecha disappeared. Sonic quickly jumped up to aid his friend. "Tails!" It took a lot of shaking and few buckets of cold water to awaken the fox, but the besides the fact that he was out of breath, he was ok.  
  
"What? What happened?"  
  
Sonic looked up, his green eyes narrowed.  
  
"Its Robotnik Tails..Eggman is back.." 


	3. Amy a fighter?

Authors Note: Disclaimer in Chapter 1 Note: This one I will try to make pretty action packed, I'm learning as I go! Thank you, Alicia Amy Rose for the review! It really lifted my spirits!  
  
***Story***  
  
"Did you get it?!" Said a very impatient Robotnik when Metal Sonic stepped in, its metallic grin fading as it beheld its master.  
  
"Yes sir." It said, holding up a small capsule that contained some of Sonic's fur and blood in its container.  
  
"Perfect! This is all I need to create the perfect replica." He was teeming with glee and almost shuttering with excitement. He turned to Metal Sonic, who was only standing there. "Your upgrades have served you well, that enhanced artificial intelligence should come in handy!" Pacing around Metal Sonic, he studied his features again, admiring his own work. The robot looked no different, but his intelligence had been more than doubled. So indeed, it was now closer to being sonic than it ever had before. "I've programmed you to learn my mecha weapon. Be sure to use it, cause I don't feel like having a piece of worthless scrap metal serving me, there is no room for flaws!"  
  
Metal Sonic restrained himself into lashing out. Yes, there was one thing Robotnik didn't notice about his creation at all. The AI he installed has mistakenly given him feelings, and at the moment, Metal Sonic wasn't to thrilled about his master speaking to him like that, just what would he be without him? But then again, what would he be? Without his master, he could go no where, and function to do nothing, so in reality, he felt he had no choice but to serve Eggman with the utmost loyalty.  
  
"YOU IDIOT!!" Eggman stomped his foot on the ground and began to madly wave the capsule in front of the mecha's face. "THERE IS A CRACK IN THE CAPSULE, AND YOU'VE GOTTEN THIS SAMPLE ALL DIRTY!" He was fuming, this could have a number affects on the cloning process. "Leave! Get out of my sight, and return to your post, you are to monitor this base at all costs! NOW GO!" Metal Sonic turned with a "Yes master.." and walked through the door, which automatically opened. Robotnik took his sample, still mumbling, and placed it into the machine. Working diligently (as he always does when it comes to destruction and the murder of Sonic), he set the settings, and hit "Activate." The machine immediately hummed to life. "Please insert power source in console." Droned the machine. Robotnik smiled and placed a silver chaos emerald into it, "Process shall take 48 hours." A grim chuckle came from the evil doctor as he turned and exited the room.  
  
Metal Sonic had gone about the base, circling it, and blasting anything organic that came within 50 feet of the main entrance. "What a wind bag.." He thought, as he continued to circle. The main entrance opened, and he immediately snapped to attention. "I see you have things covered.." said Robotnik, surveying a few destroyed animals. "Now my metal wonder, are you ready for part 2?" Mecha Sonic nodded, this time without a smile. Eggman began to laugh, a laugh that was cold, had Metal Sonic's quills been real, they would of stood on end.  
  
***Station Square Emerald Coast****  
  
Tails managed to sit up after taking long deep breathes of precious oxygen.  
  
"Aw man..what happened, I feel like someone has squeezed the life clear out of me."  
  
"It almost happened." Replied Sonic.  
  
"What happened to me...and what hit me so hard?"  
  
So Sonic explained everything, about Metal Sonic and the whole skirmish.  
  
"That's all?"  
  
"Yeah, he dropped you, and left just like that!"  
  
Tails paused for a moment. Usually, Robotnik's creations never let anyone just get away so easily. Then he noticed Sonic was still bleeding from the painful punch.  
  
"Looks like you need aid."  
  
Sonic shook his head. "Sorry lil' bro, but I am kind of worried about Amy, whatever she was thinking about really choked her up. And with Egg butt's machines moving about, last thing we need is a repeat of what happened in the Space Colony ARK."  
  
"Yeah.."  
  
The 2 quickly sped off to find where the crying pink hedgehog had gotten too. The moved quickly, sometimes running the board walk, other times running over loops. Sonic called Amy's name, but didn't get a response. Little did he know, that Metal Sonic was back, and was following his every move. "That hedgehog, this time, he won't get me back like he used too." he laughed mechanically, and quickly sped off after his enemy. Tails wasn't having any luck either. Scanning skies was bringing no result. Wherever Amy had gone, she truly didn't want to be found. They searched for hours, but finally, Sonic did get a lead when a young boy was screaming. "Hey miss! The tide is coming in, you might want to get from under there." Sonic skidded to a halt. "Don't worry about her kid, I'll handle it from here." The kid just shrugged and walked off.  
  
"Amy come on out, whats the matter?"  
  
A very saddened Amy immerged from under the board walk.  
  
"Nothing Sonic, I-I just realized that you'll never feel for me, as much as I.." She stopped right there. Sonic thought he would never here those words coming from Amy Rose. "Amy its.."  
  
Sonic never got a chance to finish his sentence, for he was suddenly slammed hard to the ground. Clanging metal and clamor filled the air, and a squeal from Amy pierced the salty air as the metal robot grabbed a hold of Amy. Holding up his sharp metal finger and pierced Amy's neck. She gasped a few times, but was soon out cold. Sonic immediately jumped up and went into a spin dash. Immediately, Metal Sonic spin dashed, never minding the fact that Amy was being spun around him like an old wet rag. He countered the attack and dropped Amy. Jumping high, he landed in front of her. Sonic turn swiftly, and jumped into a homing attack. Metal Sonic calmly rolled up, exposing his sharp metal quills. Sonic hit them full first and was flung backwards, once again in serious pain.  
  
"Your getting rusty, bro." Laughed the evil bot.  
  
"Rusty? I'm just getting started!"  
  
Sonic went into another spin dash attack, but that only made the mecha smile wider. Instead of countering the attack however, he swiftly turned, picked up Amy, and sped off into the distance.  
  
"STOP!" called Sonic, and quickly dashed off after him. Tails, who had just arrived, whirled his tails and quickly ran after the duo, hoping desperately that he could keep up, but found out that he just didn't have a chance. Metal Sonic had anticipated Sonic's every move so far, and the plan was working like a dream. Moving down station square, and plowing through the city, it wasn't long until he was back into the Mystic Ruins. "This looks like the place." He said skidding to a halt. Sonic came barreling up and immediately assumed fighting stance. Sonic's clone quickly held up Amy, and flung her hard to the ground. "Wow you run fast...impressive." he said, smiling sarcastically.  
  
"You have no idea..."  
  
"Well now, I won't hurt her, if you surrender right now..or I could always eliminate her right now." Metal Sonic said, raising his laser and aiming it at the unconscious hedgehog. Sonic scowled. But seeing Amy on the ground, ready to enter death's doors was nothing he could ignore. What choice did he have? No matter how annoying anyone is, she still deserved the right to live. Slowly, Sonic raised his hands. Metal Sonic smiled and walked forward, and held up a strange looking gun. Sonic was confused at the moment, it didn't look like an eliminated gun, but it still looked oddly familiar. Then it struck him, that was no ordinary gun, but that was a, ROBOTICAZATION GUN!  
  
"Judging by your look, you know exactly what this is. Stay still now, or my other hand may slip on this laser trigger aiming at your little girl friend."  
  
Sonic closed his eyes, waiting for the purple beam to envelop him. Metal Sonic, squeezed the trigger, only to have the gun smashed clear out of his hands. Amy had gotten up, when Metal Sonic became wrapped up in the moment. She took her piko piko hammer, and smashed Metal Sonic hard on the head. Then out of pure anger, the pink hedgehog did something that no one had ever expected Amy to do. She curled into a ball, and preformed her first spin dash!! Metal Sonic was flung back, stunned by the blow. Tails arrived in his tornado 2, and immediately began to fire. Realizing that now, he had no chance, he swiftly turned and ran off. "This isn't over yet!"  
  
Amy, dazed by her sudden attack fell to her knees, breathing hard. Sonic ran to her. "Amy...wow! are you ok?!!" She pushed Sonic away and help her own self up.  
  
"I'm fine.I'm fine.."  
  
"You, you saved yourself and...my life."  
  
Amy smiled weakly, but soon collapsed.  
  
Sonic scooped Amy in his arms as Tails landed his plane. "Come on, she is in pretty bad shape Sonic..we have to get her back home!" Sonic seated into the newly remodeled Tornado 2. This didn't look good, at all.  
  
"YOU MORON! YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCRAP METAL!" Eggman pounded the mecha's head with a pipe as hard as he could, but since the robot was made of some pretty good metal, it only scratched the surface. Mecha Sonic didn't even shield against the beating, he was pretty stunned about Amy Rose to really notice Eggman! "BEATEN BY AMY ROSE? AMY ROSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The doctor screamed and was just down right angry. "YOU BETTER NOT FAIL AGAIN, LAST CHANCE, NOW GET OUT!" He quickly left. "This is really unexpected.." Thought the doctor. He had captured Amy Rose so easily in the past, it just didn't seen possible that she could come against Metal Sonic. Peering out one of his base windows, he realized the sun had vanished among the horizon. Slowly, Eggman made his way to his quarters, and he, along with many other people, slipped off to sleep.  
  
"Just remember, Sonic hedgehog.." He muttered before he fell right asleep. "Tommorow, IS another day.." 


	4. Station Square: Destroyed

Author's Note: Wow I'm really cruising here. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing! I'll update as often as possible, and hopefully, you all enjoy every bit of it. Also, I'm mixing a bit of things from the Sonic comics in this chapter and the next ones, so don't mind that. You all know who they are copyrighted too. ;)  
  
***Station Square Amy's apartment***  
  
Morning came. The sun's golden light spread through the peaceful City of Station Square. Residents and daily business resumed in the presence of daylight, and soon, the city was teeming with customers and tourists. One such apartment, however, had been active all night. Sonic and Tails had stayed by Amy's side all night, sponging her head with a cold cloth. For some reason, her body temperature kept rising, and she always needed to be cooled down or given some medicine. Her breathing was terribly labored, and she hadn't rested well all night. "Tails.." Sonic said. "Is there a way you can bring one of your computers to scan her? I think whatever Metal Sonic injected into her system is causing this virus."  
  
Tails head popped up, he had almost dozed off on the couch. "Uh yeah, sure Sonic." Whirling his tails he quickly ran from the house, but by the time he got to the train station, he was already exhausted. After all, he had gotten little sleep. "Perhaps the train is the better idea.." He thought. Climbing aboard, the host of the train immediately noticed Tails.  
  
"Why! You're the one that saved Station Square from the Egg Walker! Oh MY GOSH! I just have so much to ask you Mr. Tails. ....Mr. Tails?"  
  
The fox had already fallen asleep on the comfortable seats. The host pulled herself together, and a chuckle arose from the small crowd on the train. "Um all aboard...stay in your seats." She said, leaving the room as red as a brick. The train carried Tails off.  
  
***Back at Amy's apartment***  
  
Sonic paced nervously around the room. This couldn't be happening, Amy had saved his life. How could she do that? "Perhaps she really meant it when she said she was going to improve herself. Maybe I have...underestimated her.." Thought Sonic. His emerald eyes drifted to sick hedgehog, and he felt something, deep in the pit of soul. The compassion in him was rising, and this frightened Sonic. No way could he feel sorry for Amy Rose, or even think of her...that way. He threw up his hands in stress, grabbed a chair, and settled by Amy's bed. Propping his feet up on her bed, and sponging her forehead one last time, he drifted off to sleep, glad that his body could rest. "Tails..will be back soon... " he thought.  
  
*****Mystic Ruins Eggman's base*****  
  
The doctor rose from a somewhat relaxed slumber. Grunting and scratching himself, he walked into the main control room, only to find the cloning machine beeping wildly. "What?! Whats going on?!" The doctor ran to the console, and read it. "Process complete." It read. "Hmmm I thought it would take another day, I guess that chaos emerald is more powerful than I thought. Computer, Analysis please." The computer began to beep and scan the organic life form inside its chamber. "Complete doctor, would you like to view the results?" Eggman scowled. Machines, such stupid things, of course he wanted to see exactly what he created. "Yes! Open it up you stupid thing!" The doors of the chamber opened, releasing some strange liquid into the drains. Robotnik's eyes widened. "NO NO NO NO!" The contaminated capsule had indeed, changed the results of the "Sonic clone". Instead of a blue male hedgehog. It was an Aqua green hedgehog, and her quills resembled that of Amy's. She wore a green vest, and the machine had placed matching special sneakers on her feet. An oxygen mask was on her face, and she was still in suspended animation. Robotnik could only look at the creation out of pure disgust. "What a waste of my time!" He paced back and forth mumbling angrily. Just then the door opened, and Metal Sonic stepped in.  
  
The first thing he noticed, was the rather good looking female hedgehog. "This must be the result of that machine." He thought.  
  
"Back from setting up the security settings?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Good! Are the new swatbots and worker bots up? I need my newest Egg Carrier in commission as soon as possible!"  
  
"Yes sir, and reports read it should be ready in only 4 hours!"  
  
"Excellent! Now out of my sight and do your duty, before I ponder deactivating you!"  
  
A thought crossed Robotnik's mind.  
  
"Wait! Before you do, did you do a scan on the forest for any of those pests?!"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Sensors indicate that Tails is moving toward his laboratory in quite a hurry. My theory is that he is trying to use his machines to diagnose Amy. That poison is having quite an effect on her. But she will not die, she should recover soon."  
  
"Follow him, and make sure he is up to just that, I want a full report on any changes."  
  
"Of course sir." Bowed the robot before speeding out the room.  
  
Robotnik immediately began to ponder just what exactly to do with this now useless clone. Scowling and slapping the computer console (which broke one of the keyboards) He left the main bridge, and headed down to the Final Egg complex. Inside, Swatbots were easily reconstructing the Egg Carrier at phenomenal speed. Robotnik's lips curled into an evil smile, soon his plan would take full effect  
  
***Mystic Ruins Main Area Tail's Lab***  
  
"Lousy old coot...ugh" sighed Metal Sonic as he moved like the wind, plowing the trees and leaving a cloud of dust in his trail. He quickly moved through up to the Jungle's entrance, hopped in the trolley, and soon found himself not far from Tail's workshop. The young fox entered his area, and immediately began to go through all his small electronics. Metal Sonic crept up the hill and peered through the window. His eyes widened when he saw the Tornado 2. It really looked souped up and powerful. Taking out a communicator, he paged Eggman, who was still marveling over his flying fortress.  
  
"What is it?! This better be good!!!"  
  
"Sir, Tails has upgraded the Tornado 2, and it now seats 4 instead of 1. The weapontry looks like it has been updated as well."  
  
"Hmmm, I was hoping I could use this for a more better, more destructive cause. But no matter. Mecha, open your back panel, inside should be the fake emerald Tails made back in the Space colony. What a fool he was to lose that thing, now I can finally give him a taste of his own medicine." A hideous laughter came over the com-link, and the doctor continued. "I want you to remove its power source and place this one inside it. It will power it to fly, but if it tries to fire on anything, it will explode." Mecha Sonic himself couldn't help but smile on this one.  
  
"Yes sir, Mecha Sonic, out."  
  
"Man, its got to be around somewhere!" Tails said as he began to become frustrated. Finally, he found a small chip like computer. Moving to sink, he gently cleaned it off, and pressed a small button, opening it up. "Nicole online." Said the computer.  
  
"Hey Nicole!" Said Tails. "I know I haven't activated you for a long time, but I have a job for you. Whirling his Tails, he quickly ran off, without giving the computer a chance to reply to his statement. Metal Sonic grinned sinisterly as he stopped the door from shutting and auto-locking. Slipping in, he immediately began to prod the plane, in search of its power source. It took a lot of banging and few screw removals, but he finally found it. To his luck, the chaos emerald contained inside the plane's unit was yellow, like the fake emerald. Switching them, he quickly shut the panel and withdrew from the area, making sure everything looked normal. "This is Mecha Sonic reporting, mission accomplished."  
  
"Good, return to the base." Replied Robotnik.  
  
Robotnik ceased viewing the progress on his ship and returned to the bridge. Looking at the "clone" once more, he scowled again and ordered the computer to drop the clone in some unknown area as soon as they lifted off. Metal Sonic just happened to step in when he heard the command. Immediately, he felt sort of sorry for the creation, it wasn't her fault that the machine had gone wrong. He narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.  
  
"I see your back." Robotnik said.  
  
"Yes sir, and I have the real chaos emerald."  
  
"Anything else to report?" Robotnik said, taking the chaos emerald from the bot.  
  
"No, only that the Tornado is taken care of."  
  
"Well done, you may go back to your post now, I have some business to take care of. I am putting you in charge of the Swatbots and the worker bots, be sure to monitor this progress with precise attention, failure is not an option."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Robotnik turned and left, leaving Metal Sonic alone on the main bridge. Metal Sonic went to the main computer, and looked at the stats of the clone. "There has to be a way I can access the panel, my master did say I was in control." He pressed a few buttons, and the computer came online. "Identity check, please state your name." The mecha gave a questioning look, but decided to give it a try. "Metal Sonic." To his surprise, the computer's light flashed green. "Access granted." Smiling, the robot turned on the security monitors, all was looking well. Despite the fact that the project was going very well and he was very busy making sure everything was orderly, he still couldn't help but think of the encapsulated clone, waiting to be dropped or brought to life.  
  
"Computer, access cloning machine and open up chamber doors."  
  
At once the doors opened.  
  
"Awaken subject."  
  
The computer beeped a few times, and the mask was removed. After a little while, the green hedgehog began to stir.  
  
"Wha-what?"  
  
"Its ok, your at Eggman's base, your creator's home."  
  
The she-chog looked around confused, but was soon prodding about, inspecting everything. She had Sonic's movement, and her voice held a slight masculine touch, but she was very pretty, and still had a feminine feel. "Wow, this place is something..but, but what is my purpose here?"  
  
Metal Sonic sighed, he really didn't know what to tell this innocent clone. It would surely die, but the again, maybe not, she did seem rather intelligent.  
  
"I must warn you, to return your chamber. Do you know anything?"  
  
"I know how to survive and such, and the events of the past. I know of the final hazard, and all of the other events, and that a certain hedgehog, that Eggman, once worked with, died after the whole ordeal. But as for my purpose or my orders, I have no idea."  
  
"You must return to your chamber, Eggman, or my master, does not want you, and you'll die if he finds you here!"  
  
This look brought horror to her face.  
  
"Hurry...now!"  
  
The green hedgehog immediately ran back to the area of the chamber. "Computer! Put subject back into suspended animation status!" The chamber doors shut as the computer complied. It did it just in time, for Dr. Eggman was just walking right in. "The Carrier is complete, Mecha Sonic, we have a nice fleet of robots and plenty of subjects. It won't be long until I rebuild Robotropolis, on Station Square's ruins!!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!" Metal Sonic Shuttered.  
  
"Report to the bridge of the ship, we will be lifting off soon!!"  
  
***Station Square Amy's Apartment. ***  
  
Sonic was well asleep, and snoring by the time Tails came in. "Mmmmmm chili dogs." Sonic muttered in his sleep.  
  
"Sonic, I got Nicole out!" Tails muttered as he walked in. A smile formed on his face when he saw his buddy sleeping. "And he said he wouldn't slack off." Tails said. Walking quietly, as to not wake up his friend, he opened Nicole. "Nicole, scan Amy and identify problems."  
  
"Scanning now."  
  
Tails tapped his foot impatiently.  
  
"Censors show that there is a poison in her immune system. However, it is subsiding, and should be gone in an hour."  
  
Tails sighed with relief. "Thank you Nicole."  
  
"Your welcome Tails." Tails shut her down, closed her up, and fell on the couch, glad to rest once more. He eventually fell asleep. Not to far away, a dark object could be seen in the sky over the Mystic Ruins.  
  
"Computer, did you drop unwanted cargo?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Excellent. All systems, full power!!"  
  
The Egg Carrier sped up, and made its way toward Station Square quicker than ever.  
  
The fortress's power shook the whole city when its presence became known. "Ready the laser! Now!" The bots got to work, and Metal Sonic quickly began to punch in statistics for the computer. "Estimated time, 5 minutes sir!" Robotnik nodded, and quickly set out security fighter ships to secure the ship's outer borders and its sky deck. People began to scream as they saw their lovely city danger. Sonic and Tails quickly woke up and ran out. They too, even gasped in horror when they saw the impending danger upon the city. Sonic quickly ran inside the apartment and grabbed Amy. They ran, for it was the only thing they could do. The laser powered up, and what happened next happened super fast. The laser plowed through the city, exploding the buildings and killing lives. People could only screamed in agony as their lives and home disintegrated. Sonic had to close his eyes, his heart filling with pain and anger. They ran as far as the could, out running the explosions.  
  
And through it all a sinister laughter could be heard. Robotnik had destroyed the once lively city, Station Square.. 


	5. The Assemblage: Tears of Truth

Author's Note: Back for Chapter 5 yep! You guys here at Fanfiction.net are so great! I am so glad that you love the fanfic! A special thanks to Ryuko Dragonhalf, and Son Goku, for their reviews! They really make me wanna keep going! Remember, keep reviewing, I keep going! (No need to hit me Goku ;) ) Oh note, its going to be like the comics, only with modern characters. This may sound bad, but I think you'll really like it if you give it a chance. Anyway, Enjoy!!  
  
***Story***  
  
"Hurry Tails!" Sonic yelled as he made his way toward the Mystic Ruins. He hated to run away from his adversary, but there was no choice this time, the explosions where the enveloping the area with great force and destruction. Tails was whirling his tails like a helicopter, trying desperately to stay afloat and go at his top speed. Amy was thrown over Sonic's shoulder, and Sonic clutching her tight, praying that he wouldn't drop her. People, who where fortunate enough to be on the outskirts of the city, where also making their toward the great forest. Some weren't hurt at all, others were wounded or burnt, they tried frantically to save themselves.  
  
Sonic was teeming with both anger and sadness when he re-entered the Mystic Ruins. Stopping and placing Amy gently beneath a tree, he immediately turned and ran back toward the now smoldering Station Square.  
  
"Hey Sonic! Where are you going?!" Tails called.  
  
"Back to the City, I need to help whoever is still out there!"  
  
"But, what about the people who are coming?!"  
  
Sonic stopped, he hadn't thought about that, all he thought about was restoring Station Square and kicking Robotnik's sorry behind. He stopped, his head hanging low, and a look of anger flashing in his green eyes. Turning around, a small group of people, along with a few other animal residents had gathered. There was fox who looked like to be in his early twenties, A wolf with a sword strapped to his back, and a Echidna who was burned badly in his right arm. The others where people who had miraculously survived, but there where only 15 of them.  
  
That night, things where very slow and gloomy. Tails and the few who hadn't sustained injuries tended to the injured, while Sonic and other people met in Tail's laboratory, to discuss their next moves. Sonic stood at the head of the room, looking sharper then ever. He felt it was his fault that the city was ruined, despite the fact that Tails had told him it wasn't. No one knew it was coming, but Sonic blamed himself because he had fallen asleep. The wolf, Echidna, and the fox had introduced themselves as Strider, Donovan, and Vincent. They stood before Sonic and the people, ready for the sure to come speech that Sonic was ready to give.  
  
He stepped forward, his heart heavier then steel.  
  
"Eggman, has taken our city, our lives, and our loved ones. But we will take them back, and restore what is rightfully ours! I for one, WILL NOT stand and watch while Fatnik rules. The desperate old coot will learn, freedom, is not to be messed with. I, Sonic the hedgehog, PROMISE you that!"  
  
A cheer rose from the crowd, and Sonic couldn't help but smile weakly, the would survive. Tails stepped in, a little smile on his face.  
  
"We'll win, Sonic."  
  
"You know it lil' bro."  
  
And so it began, everyone agreed to go inspect the City tomorrow, while a few stayed behind and tended the wounded. Everyone prepared themselves mentally and physically, the war with Robotnik had begun.  
  
***Mystic Ruins Unknown Location***  
  
The clone, that Robotnik had referred to as unwanted cargo, had been out cold from the fall all through the night. The sound of water could be heard in the area she lay in. Her green coat was glistening in the morning sunlight as it rose slowly over the majestic horizon. First one eyelid opened, and then the other, revealing solid green eyes. She stood up and peered around. "Where am I? And what am I doing here?" She began to wander, hoping to find someone, somewhere.  
  
As she trudged through the seemingly endless forest, her thoughts centered on why her creator, Robotnik, didn't want her. There had to be a purpose, one that told her of why she was created. Or, perhaps...it was irrelevant why she was created. Maybe her existence held a destiny that was something to treasure. Either way, it bothered her, but it wasn't long before the beauty of the strange forest drew her attention away from her clouded mind. She practiced a few tricks, including running at super speed, doing spin dashes and homing attacks, and some summersaults. But she grew tired of this game, and concentrated on running. She zipped through the forest, a green phantom in the trees, not knowing, she was headed straight into trouble. She stopped abruptly when she thought she heard movement. Turning her head and listening with her emerald ears, she didn't see anything. "Must be my imagination." But the frightening feeling lingered. "Maybe I'll just walk then.." She glanced around her nervously once more, before walking at a more slower pace, like a jog.  
  
A shadow loomed over a tree top before landing on a slender branch. Blue sunglasses covered his eyes. His fur was a dazzling red with a half moon shape white patch of fur on his chest. His hand where bulky, and sharp knuckle points. It was Knuckles, and he didn't like this creature, she was drawing closer to the fallen Angel Island, and that could only mean danger to his emerald. "I have to try to be more silent, I almost gave myself away." Gliding from tree top to tree top, he continued to track her, not knowing her true demeanor. The green hedgehog continued to walk down the narrow path she had located earlier. "Its so quiet." She thought. She began to hum, and her pace quickened. The path wound through many trees and hills, but she came to cliff that was so high, the thought of falling over it was enough to make anyone collapse from fear. A wooden bridge extended to another island with a beautiful mountain.  
  
"That's it, she is far to close, I better make my presence known soon." Thought Knuckles as he glided behind her. Oh sure, he could of easily taken her out by now, but he wanted to make sure he had a pretty solid reason to attack someone, heaven knows he wasn't a killer. The young girl made her way across the bridge, unaware that the echidna had landed behind her, and was stalking her slowly. A beautiful green glow caught her eye. Enticed by its heavenly beauty, she made her way toward it, totally oblivious to the fact that she was trespassing on Angel Island. She approached the shrine, and stared at the massive emerald, not even noticing that a piece of it was missing, thus preventing the island from floating. She placed one had on its smooth surface. She was about to do so with the other hand, when something smacked her neck, HARD.  
  
She howled in pain and fell backwards. Knuckles calmly landed in front of the Master Emerald, his red arms crossed in front of him. "You have a pretty melody for a thief!" Spat Knuckles. "Don't you know it isn't wise to take something isn't yours?"  
  
The green hedgehog rose, rubbing her neck. "Take it?! NO WAY! I was just admiring it!!" She winced, but she had a hellish look on her face. Normally, Knuckles would have laughed at such a comment, and asked, or more like demand for the real explanation. But her voice was just so sincere, and she did seem like the type that would rather be out taking care of pets then steeling the Master Emerald. "Whats your name anyway?" Knuckles said in a very impatient tone.  
  
Then, it struck the she-chog. She had no name, none what so ever. Dr. Eggman had failed to give her a real name, or even orders now that she thought of it. Then, a word Knuckles had said earlier came across her mind. Melody...it sounded very pretty and elegant. "Well." She thought. "If none one will name me, then I guess I'll have to." Staring sternly at Knuckles, she spoke, anger rising in her. "My name is Melody, for your information!" Knuckles scowled.  
  
"Your awful cocky, I don't like that. Perhaps you need another smack on the neck." He said holding up his fist. Mel was about to reply when a another voice came into the picture. "Aww chill hon, she isn't here to hurt nothing, the way I see it." A white bat flew from the trees, her beauty apparent as she landed smoothly beside Knuckles. "Besides, I don't think she could take on the both of us if that is her true intention." She said with a smirk. Knuckles groaned at the sight of Rouge the bat, the former government spy. True, he sort of had feelings for her, but she always seemed to be a thorn in his side at the same time. Flexing her ears, Rouge began to further question this strange hedgehog. "What are you doin' here any way, and what exactly is your business on Angel Island?" Melody sighed, she had said so many times that she had no clue where she was or where she was going. This didn't go to well with Knuckles, who was growing more impatient by the minute. "Look, leave, and don't come back here, understand?!" His voice was stiff with anger. Melody didn't need anymore prodding, she quickly turned and bolted, glad to be away form an echidna like Knuckles. Rouge watched her go with a hint of compassion in her eyes. "Was that necessary?" Knuckles only grunted and nodded before settling down before the giant jewel.  
  
***Mystic Ruins Tails's Laboratory***  
  
Sonic and his crew where up in the wee early morning hours, gathering everyone in the lab, it was time to go back and inspect their home, and hopefully, to start clearing the wreckage. Station Square had been destroyed before, so there was no reason that the people couldn't rebuild it again, at least, that's what everyone hoped.  
  
"Ok everyone." Sonic said, his face serious, but hopeful. "You all know the groups. Group A will be lead by Strider, Group B by Donovan and Tails, and I'll lead group C. Everyone search for survivors."  
  
The troops nodded, and they proceeded to march to the ruined City. However, in the lab, one soul began to stir. "Man.I feel like I've been wrung out.." Amy sat up from the small cot. She no longer felt sick or nauseous, and she no longer had a fever, but she did feel extremely weak. "Where is everyone?" She said, standing up. Picking up her piko piko hammer, she walked to the window and saw the crowd of people heading toward the City. "Hey! Wait!" finding newfound energy, she ran as fast as she could. Sonic heard her running, and had to admit, he was very glad to see her running up to him. "Amy, welcome back!" Amy threw her arms around Sonic and squeezed him tight. Sonic gasped for air, and once again, Tails pried her off. "Guess she is back to normal." Thought Sonic, but he found himself smiling at the predicament. "Where ya'll headed too? Home?" Amy asked. She didn't know about her destroyed home or ruined City, boy was it a shock when Sonic told her the whole story. Tears filled her eyes and she cried quietly, for her home and all the lost people. Many of the group members comforted her, and then set off again, none of them prepared for the sight they where about to see.  
  
***Station Square***  
  
The group lingered in the shadows while approaching Station's Squares Border. Sonic was the first to survey the damage, and to his horror, he saw that Robotnik had not left at all, and the wreckage had been all cleared. Turning to Tails, he quickly signaled him to follow, while the others fell back, this may be a more serious situation then a ruined City. Little did they know, that their every move was being watched. Metal Sonic snickered as the 2 entered the outskirts of the construction sight. Boy where they in for a surprise.  
  
"Metal Sonic to master"  
  
"What is it?! We almost got the main control center up!"  
  
"Sonic and his side kick has arrived."  
  
"Ah I see, well send them some of my fleets, and capture them, if possible."  
  
"As you wish, sir."  
  
Metal Sonic punched on the computer console, causing the alarms surrounding the city to go off. "Sonic!" Amy cried when she saw the whole commotion, and out of pure fear and worry bolted off after him. "AMY!" cried Strider. "Group A and B, quickly! Follow back up procedures, and watch yourselves out there!" The crowd broke away from the safety of the borders, and quickly ran to aid the duo. Swatbots came from all directions, each equipped with lasers, and a few, with roboticazation guns. Sonic easily homed on a few, and destroyed about 14 of them. Tails whirled his tails and whipped them out, stopping a good amount of them in their tracks. Sonic smiled. "Now this is my kind of game." He went into the spin dash, and light came into him, charging him up for the light speed dash. He moved like lighting, destroying tons of robots at once. Amy came and used her hammer to take out a few, and all was going well, until, AI robots (though not as nearly advance as Metal Sonic) came in. They moved swift and were well programmed. It took more than 3 homing attacks to destroy one. Sonic began to have a bit of trouble, and the groups fought bravely, but more and more troops kept coming. "GET OUT OF HERE!  
  
Called Sonic. The groups began to fall back, but Sonic plowed forward, his buddy tails close behind. They didn't know it, but Amy was following them, trying desperately to keep up.  
  
Sonic and Tails made their way quickly through the area, noticing tall steel buildings and generators were already in place. Then, they came upon the sight that no freedom fighter would ever want to see. A gigantic tall steel building, with the shape of Eggman at its peak, stood at the center of the once political center of Station Square. 1000's of bots were working on the monstrous structure. "This is why he destroyed it...he's building his empire." Tails said, not believing what was happening. Sonic clenched his fist in anger, but Tails held him back. "Sonic, we need to plan this out, if your killed or hurt, then I wouldn't know what to do." Sonic calmed a bit, but was only worked up again when Amy, unaware that she had been followed this whole time, was all of sudden grabbed by a fleet of bots, and one familiar looking robot. "Sonic! THAT'S ZERO!" Sonic quickly spin dashed. "Let her go you bolt brain!" However, Zero was all of sudden beamed away into the gigantic tower. Sonic uncurled, and quickly turned, ready to save Amy.  
  
"HAHAH! I wouldn't do that, Sonic hedgehog!"  
  
Sonic stopped as Eggman came hovering down on his Egg globe. Attached to it, was a ship like frame, equipped with deadly rockets and an imprisoned Amy, who was pleading for help. Sonic held his fist up.  
  
"YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!"  
  
"Oh but I am, and your going to help me get away with it!"  
  
"NO WAY!"  
  
"Oh really. Well then, if that is your answer, I think I'll finally take out one of you."  
  
Without warning, Eggman took out a laser rifle, and before Sonic could say or do anything. Fired! Amy screamed, and sunk to the ground, blood trickling from her side wound. "AMY!!!!!!!!!!!" Screamed Sonic, the pain in his heart rising. Robotnik sinisterly laughed, and for the first time, Sonic felt tears welling up in his eyes. It occurred to him, how much he truly cared for Amy, and despite the fact that she had been annoying at times...he had...loved her. Dropping to his knees in shock, Sonic felt tears fall down his eyes.  
  
"To think, I get to see the day where Sonic the hedgehog was reduced to tears!" He laughed louder, and this got to Sonic. He rose, his quills stiffened, and he took off, and ran straight up the building, anger coursing through his entire body. Tails immediately flew off after him. Sonic viciously homed in on Eggman's machine, causing it to break apart, but Robotnik wasn't going down without a fight. He spun his carrier around. A ship swooped down from the sky. It was like a fighter jet, with Eggman's logo on the side. Metal Sonic piloted it expertly, and shot at the egg globe. Sonic felt himself lose his balance, and it happened, he fell right over the edge. Screaming and falling a long ways down, Tails swooped down after his friend, but sadly missed. "SONIC!"  
  
As Sonic fell to his death, he muttered something, while tears fell down his eyes, his emotions finally set free. "I've failed Amy...I've failed everyone..I'm sorry." Tails screamed in horror, when the unexpected happen. A fast moving creature, moving like a blur through the city came. With skill and a bit of good luck, he caught Sonic just as he was about to hit the ground. As fast as he came was as fast he disappeared.  
  
"WHAT THE? METAL SONIC AFTER HIM!!!" Eggman called in fury.  
  
Metal Sonic would've, but the creature was already gone. Tails quickly ordered everyone back to the Mystic Ruins. Eggman's Egg globe finally destructed, flinging its contents in all directions, one being the very cage Amy was imprisoned in. The creature took Sonic back to Tail's laboratory. The group arrived, some mourning for Amy, others in shock. Sonic, who was stunned from the whole ordeal. When he awoke, he felt himself being held by someone. Through tear stained eyes, he could only stare in shock when he realized who it was.  
  
"Sh-------Shadow?" 


	6. Love And War: Freedom Fighters

Author's Note:  
  
I am really glad to say that I am up to Chapter 6! Keep the reviews rolling in guys. Anyone who reviews I will gladly mention up in my notes. If you where wondering, exactly what Strider, Donovan, and Vincent looked like, here are their descriptions.  
  
Donovan: Looks exactly like Knuckles, only a bit friendlier and into protecting other people rather than Jewels.  
  
Strider: Jet black wolf with a green shirt and fighting pants. Navy blue sash tied around waist. Sharp green eyes. Friendly, but easily gets upset.  
  
Vincent: Albino Fox with golden eyes. Wears solid white dojo uniform with black sash. The friendly, and helpful type.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
***Story***  
  
Sonic nearly collapsed again from shock as Shadow placed him on the cot Amy was once lying in. He was still the same dark black hedgehog, but with a few scars on his legs, but they where barely noticeable. "Yeah that's me faker, and I'd think you of all hedgehogs should know not to go off and get yourself hurt like that." He said sternly. Tails burst into the laboratory. "Sonic, are you ok?! Shadow? Your alive!" Shadow shot him a stern look that told Tails he was not in the mood for annoying questions. Tails quickly whipped out Nicole and conducted a health scan. Sonic was a bit bruised and battered up, but he was ok, no internal damage. Emotionally, however, Sonic was a wreck. Everything had happened so fast. Amy, gone, his home and his resting place, gone. It was as if a terrible wave a tragedy that could not be stopped had hit this earth with relentless force. Sonic slowly rose from the bed, the pain in his side and leg from attacking Eggman not hindering him as he limped toward the door.  
  
"Shadow..Thank you."  
  
"Yeah whatever."  
  
"Now I know this is an inevitable question, but how did you survive?"  
  
At first Shadow's ruby eyes narrowed, but soon, a smile made its way to his facial expression.  
  
"You saved my life, Sonic, you just didn't realize it."  
  
Sonic's ears pricked with wonder, and he turned to face his former rival. "What do you mean?"  
  
Shadow's face grew serious.  
  
"Remember that fake emerald you once held? Well, when we teleported the Space Colony back to orbit, it must of fell from your coat. I caught it, and said chaos control, but I didn't see the portal appear behind me. Unaware that my life was about to be saved, I muttered my last words, and said goodbye to this dimension. Only to warp back here, on earth."  
  
Sonic smiled, but very weakly. "Excuse me guys, I think you can handle things here for now, but, I must be alone, for a little while. I hope you don't mind." Tails nodded understandingly, as Sonic limped out the door.  
  
Despite the fact there was a war going on at Station Square (now named Robotropolis), The Mystic Ruins was still quiet and peaceful. Sonic first started out at a slow walk, admiring the view of the sunset over the water. His soul was restless and in pain, but it was slowly calming down in this tranquil scenery. He walked passed the waterfall and too the trolley. It rolled him away into the Jungle, where it was, as always, quiet. Sonic trudged through the forest and settled by "Big's Creek." The cold water trickled through the area, producing a relaxing sound. Sonic stared at his reflection, and finally, let his emotions out. Crying was never his thing, nor will it ever will be, but the death of Amy, felt like a knife in the heart. All those years of running away and avoiding her, He never realized how much he truly did care for her and his safety. The hedgehog leaned against a slender sapling and closed his eyes. An image of Amy appeared before him, and she looked like she was ready to pounce and give a bear hug. "Sonic, marry me, please!" she begged. Sonic's eyes popped open, it was just to much for him at the moment.  
  
Revving up his legs, he took off down passed the jungle, and into the deeper parts of the seemingly endless forest. To his surprise, he found debris from the earlier battle. One looked like the piece of the wing to the Egg globe, and another, a dud rocket. Then he found some metal. The piece of metal looked sort of like a bar, a bar that could only go to, a cage!!! Sonic quickly followed the small miniscule pieces of the cage, until he found her..laying on the ground, dried blood on her side. "Amy.." Sonic said, slowly approaching her. He knelt at her side, and scooped her in his arms, and cradled her. He shook her gently, but no movement came. Sonic remembered her words to him at the beach.  
  
"I'm sorry Sonic...for being...ME!"  
  
Sonic's head bowed, and he held her closer, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.  
  
"No Amy..I'm sorry..sorry for being blind."  
  
Cold tears ran down his eyes, and slowly began to fall on Amy, each one filled with passion and love. Sonic just lost himself, mourning was something he had never done, but he was in deep pain. Drop...drop...drop, the tears began to wet Amy's face all over. And then.like a miracle out of no where, Sonic felt Amy move. She moved only slightly at first, and then began to wince. Her green eyes opened. "Sonic.." She muttered, leaning against him. Sonic could only say nothing and hold her tighter than he ever did before. More tears, this time of joy, fell down his face. Looking up toward the heavens, now streaked with a multitude of colors due to the setting sun, he smiled weakly.  
  
"Thank you..."  
  
***Robotropolis Head Quarters***  
  
Metal Sonic landed his "Egg Jet" as Robotnik called it, and stepped from the cockpit, feeling particularly good about himself. That shot was one in a million, and he came incredibly close to killing his all time rival. The swatbots came here, all returning to their docking bays while the worker bots continued the construction, which was moving rapidly. Walking from the west wing into the main head quarter area, Robotnik was surveying the City's construction. "Metal Sonic."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Excellent shot, but you could've of blown me up in the process! AND DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO CHASE THAT IDIOT WHO SAVED SONIC'S LIFE?!"  
  
"Yes sir, but I could no longer track it because it was moving at a high rate of speed."  
  
Robotnik turned abruptly around, his eyes almost bulging with anger.  
  
"EXCUSES, EXCUSES! You should of chased them! YOU BETTER OBEY ME NEXT TIME! Now double the security, I see Sonic and Tails aren't the only ones to survive this whole thing. Nothing will stop me from building the ultimate empire! You just wait and see. OH and by the way my metal wonder, open a new space in the main computer's RAM, I got some things to input for our next project. Page me should that blue hedgehog come back!"  
  
Without awaiting a response from his metal creation, the mad doctor left, stomping all the way. Metal Sonic angrily punched the console. "THAT SON OF A..." he held his tongue back, last thing he needed to risk was Robotnik over hearing him, then he would be deactivated again. Taking his post, he turned on the security monitors, and sent a signal out to double the Swatbot patrol. The city grew larger and larger, and it only took hours for entire buildings to be constructed. According the computer, Robotropolis would be complete by sun up. Metal Sonic accessed the main computer drive and cleared a space of memory for Eggman's file. Something caught his eye, however, as he scanned the main servers.. "PROJECT ANNIALATION"  
  
***Mystic Ruins***  
  
Sonic, had sat there for hours, holding Amy, and nursing her wound. She hadn't fully awakened yet, only moved once or twice, but still, she was alive. Sonic couldn't move her back to where they where staying, or he risked making her lose more blood. He could only hope that Tails and the crew would come looking for him soon, or that would have to be a risk he'd have to take.  
  
However, back at "home" things were very busy. Tails had gathered the strongest and the most potential of the group into his lab, which they now called the war room. Tails had been in deep thought ever since Sonic left, and he knew that now, they weren't safe in this part of the forest. They had to construct an area where they could hide and be safe from Robotnik and his area squads. His air force was also quite strong, so this area must not be seen from the air. Donovan, Strider, Vincent, and Tails discussed various strategies. However, none were willing to move until Sonic returned.  
  
"Tails, Dr. Eggman may come looking for us any time, what do we do if Sonic doesn't return?"  
  
"He'll come back, but there is no time to waste, we must gather materials and tell everyone that we must find a place of safety. As much as I hate to admit this, ole' fatnik has the advantage. We will eventually take him out, but for now, we better get a place to stay."  
  
All nodded in agreement. The lab door all of sudden and Shadow walked in, the look on his face blank and emotionless. "According to those people, 8 died in the battle, and 2 where roboticized." Tails nodded, a slightly sadder look on his face. "Ok, lets get to work."  
  
The remaining survivors worked hard into the night cutting down trees and taking whatever metal they could find. Tails used his Tornado to transport the lumber and metal into the deep outskirts of the forest. There, Donovan and Strider stayed with last few people to begin the construction of Knothole, a hide out unseen by air and only known by the survivors. It would serve as a haven from Robotnik for now. Tails flew back to his lab and landed his jet. He gathered everything useful, and loaded them into the 2nd cockpit. Sighing, he peered at the clock, it was 10:30 pm. "I can't believe this has happened..and where is Sonic?" Tails then noticed Shadow staring outside staring at the sky, his eyes glazed and restless. "Sometimes I wonder just what goes on in that head of his." Sighing he walked out and called out to the obsidian hedgehog. "Shadow! Come on, I'm ready to transport this last bit of cargo to our base, then we have to go looking for Sonic." Shadow turned, but only slightly, his red eyes blazing. "No, I must be alone."  
  
"But----." Tails began to say. But Shadow took off in a quick sonic boom. Shaking his head, Tails loaded up the last of the gadgets he could take, and flew off toward the location of the Knothole. Huts where being constructed, and many people where hard at work setting up systems of plumbing and other essentials. It was a long process, and it lasted all night, but they never stopped, it was far to important to have a place to stay. Finally, Tails was glad to call this place the Knothole, and people readied themselves for their first stays and rest. Tails however, climbed in his jet plane and flew off in search of Sonic.  
  
Amy had finally awoken fully. Sonic calmed and comforted her, as he told the whole story. "Sonic...I was used again, and you almost died because of it." Tears welled up in her eyes. Sonic shook his head. "No Amy, you weren't used, you where just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And, you never put me in any danger, and even if you did, it doesn't matter because I..." Sonic trailed off, staring into her lush green eyes, not believing the feelings and love he had in his heart. It just didn't make sense after all these years of avoiding her that he loved her now. But then again, a part of Sonic encouraged him and welcomed the idea.  
  
"Because why..Sonic?" Amy said weakly, her eyes glistening with tears.  
  
Sonic finally decided to quit fighting it, and give in to the feelings that had been dormant for so long. "Because..I-I love you, Amy Rose." Sonic held her close then. Amy, at first didn't say anything, then she embraced him, holding him tight. "And I love you..Sonic the hedgehog." For that moment, they were both happy just to hold each other. They kept each other warm, unaware that Tails was on his way. Amy, moved closer to Sonic, and Sonic closer to her. Closer and closer their heads came, and finally, the moment they never expected to come came, they kissed, with deep passion. There emotions, whirling inside them filled them with joy and comfort. A motor in the distance caused them to break their embrace. "Looks like Tails is here." Sonic said. Amy clutched him tight as Sonic rose and walked to the now landed Tornado 2. "Sonic? AMY! Your ok! Your alive!!!!!" Tails screamed in glee. Then, Tails noticed the happiness and love in Sonic's eyes. Smiling, Tails bowed happily. "Congrats, Sonic and Amy." Sonic and Amy blushed, while Tails climbed into the main cockpit. They flew off into the night, all the way back to the newly constructed Knothole. "Way past cool Tails, the place looks great!" Tails smiled, and a cheer arose from the crowd. Sonic smiled, and stepped up before the gathering crew.  
  
"You guys, we will take back what is ours, I promise! Let it be known, that we are, THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS!"  
  
The crowd went wild with cheers, and Amy hugged Sonic with love. Everybody, exhausted from the battle and the night's work, eagerly went to bed, for tomorrow was sure to bring more than just normal every day chores..  
  
***Robotropolis***  
  
Meanwhile, the city had finally been completed by the Swatbots. Robotnik was definitely on his high horse, inspecting every thing and every building. The security was well built, and more robots and mechanisms where being produced by the hour. Tomorrow would be the day the now ruler of the area would hunt down Sonic and his crew. He entered the main control room, where Metal Sonic was still busy monitoring. "Ready your jets and crew." Metal Sonic curiously looked up. "And where might we be going?" Robotnik smiled a devious smiled. "To Angel Island, we need to know, the location, of the 7 chaos emeralds." 


	7. Board to Death!

Author's Note: Chapter 7: Board to death! A special shout goes out to Mecha Sonica! Thanks for the IM review and offering me membership to your board! Also, you've also (though unwittingly) gave me an idea for the story by mentioning Sonic one, this Story could use a bit of the classic with my own personal touch! ;) Anyway, Enjoy!! I'm snagging a bit of Spirit songs too, and you know who they are copy righted too. :)  
  
***Story***  
  
***Mystic Ruins Very Secluded Location ***  
  
One soul, hadn't slept at all during the wintery night. No, he had been up, standing upon a large hill over looking a dark forest surrounded by water on three sides. Not many people knew of this very secluded place, and that's how this one hedgehog liked it. Ruby eyes scanned the horizon, noticing dark snowy clouds moving in the direction of the land. Stiffening his quills and closed his eyes, Shadow the hedgehog stood in deep thought, about the only person he truly cared about. He began to have a flash back, one that was very familiar to him, and also painful. He was standing on the Space Colony Ark, looking down at the beautiful Earth, its shine pleasing to the eye. Maria stood at his side, her blue eyes also gazing down at the small, but busy planet.  
  
"Shadow? What do you think its like down there one earth?"  
  
"The professor said that he existed for all of mankind down there. He once said that his very existence revolved around making people happy through the power of science."  
  
"Shadow..."  
  
"Maria, I just don't know anything anymore.. I often wonder why I was created, why I was brought here. Maybe if I go down there, I will find all the answers...maybe."  
  
That had been a peaceful time, and Shadow, never realized how much he cared for Maria, until she was ripped away from him. Shot down by sick minded humans blinded by fear. Curse that GUN, curse it for what it had done to him. A tear trickled down his obsidian cheek, but he quickly wiped it off. Opening his dark red eyes, he took off down the hill side for a brisk run and scan of his area. He didn't want anyone trespassing on his turf, this threatened his solitude. He ran a full 3 times around the peninsula, but saw nothing. Settling beneath a tree, he gazed up at starry skies, which would soon be over taken by dark gray clouds. Shadow's breathing began to slow down, and he was about to slip off into sleep, when a voice sounded over the wind. A trespasser was lurking about. Standing up and pricking his black ears, he listened carefully to the words of the lurker.  
  
I hear the wind across the plain. A sound, so strong, that calls my name. Its wild like the river, its warm as the sun, yes its here, this is were I belong. Under the starry skies, will eagles have flown, this place is paradise, it is where I call home. The moon on the mountain...the whisper in the trees, the leaves on the water.let nothing come between it and me..  
  
Shadow had to admit, her voice was beautiful, but still, whoever it was shouldn't be here. Revving up his legs and running, his hover shoes kicked in and he skated stealthily across the ground, his eyes growing more narrow the closer he came to this creature. The creature was Melody, and she had no idea of the black hedgehog headed her way. She had only sang because she was nervous, and was currently looking for a place to settle down. Imagine her surprise when she was nearly bowled over by a rather annoyed hedgehog. She rolled over and over, mud caking to her fur. Standing up and looking around, her eyes rested on Shadow. "Who are you and what do you want?" He demanded.  
  
Melody was a bit frightened, but she didn't show it, that was a sign of weakness. She decided to answer quickly, for this hedgehog didn't look like he was in the mood for games or long conversation. "My name is Melody, I don't know where I am, I just need a place to rest."  
  
"Hmph.I should tell you to get out right now, your bothering me." Shadow scowled. His desire to be alone had been so high ever since his survival. No one could blame him, he was so hurt inside from that event from 50 years ago. Melody's eyes widened, she had traveled for so long and was so tired. The thought of turning back and traveling some more made her feet ache. "Please.." She pleaded. "Let me rest, I'll leave, just please let me rest." Shadow paced back and forth restlessly, but he never took his eyes off the aqua green hedgehog. Then, his face softened, the sound of her voice sounded so pleading, it reminded of him of the day Maria had made him promise the one thing he would be bound to his whole entire life.  
  
"For one night!" He said. Turning slowly, he walked off. Melody sighed with relief and began to walk the island, staring at the trees and gazing at the many features of this small piece of land. Small animals came out every now and then, but for the most part, things where pretty quiet and tranquil. She hummed peacefully to herself, and found herself a nice spot by the water's edge. Sighing, she leaned herself against a small tree and gazed into the heavens. "Wow, looks like a storm is on the horizon." She said sleepily, unaware that Shadow was in a tree above her, watching her closely for any signs of hostility, none could be to careful. Through the night Melody slept, and Shadow finally got over the bothersome feeling that she was there, and fell asleep. He wrestled with bad dreams and painful memories, but sleep through the entire night (or what was left of it) he slept.  
  
***Mystic Ruins Knothole***  
  
The residents of the newly constructed haven arose early the next morning, and went about the daily business. Some began to construct a few more huts or add a little more to their own. However, the leaders of the area hadn't awoken yet, they had stayed up into the late hours of the night working on their next move on Dr. Robotnik. Tails realized that there was no way they could take back Station Square with that kind of security, and either they would have to disable it or be extremely cunning. Sonic had been up for both ideas, surely disabling security and worrying about that army of Swatbots wasn't going to be a walk in the park. Sonic, however, was the first to awaken on this cloudy morning. Snow had begun to fall, giving the forest an even more peaceful feeling. The trees were laced with white, and the gorgeous surroundings were enough to make even the most trouble soul relax. Sonic tried to sit himself up, only problem was, someone was holding him tight, with her head resting on his chest. Sonic smiled, Amy and him had gone to sleep holding each other that night. Amy had recovered nicely, especially because Tails had wrapped her head and Strider used his medicine knowledge to patch up her wound and numb the pain. He gently pushed her to the side of the bed and got up. Stretching and peering out the window, he realized this would be an important day.  
  
And even though the first hours of this morn seemed innocent enough, a cloud path in the sky along with very faint motor sounds told other wise..  
  
"Hold formation, bot plans keep to the right and surround the Egg hornet, follow on MY signal only!" Metal Sonic lead a very small fleet of Swat Ships toward Angel Island, Dr. Eggman in the center. "This better be worth it.." Thought Metal Sonic. Every time they went after these little emeralds things tended to get rough, and Metal Sonic was not in the mood hear Eggman scream. Beep! Beep! His console began to go off, signally a page. "Yes sir, what is it?"  
  
"We're close to the island. I'm sure Knuckles is down there, be sure to do away with him while a take that Master Emerald."  
  
"I thought we were here for the Chaos Emeralds?"  
  
"DON'T QUESTION ME! We need that Emerald to find the location of the other 7, we have 2, the other 5 are not in my possession, SO I'M NOT HAPPY! Keep Knuckles out of the way. And I wouldn't be surprised if Rouge was here too, she had a thing with Knuckles. Now I'm pulling away from the fleet. Robotnik out."  
  
Metal Sonic just groaned and followed his creator easily, his plane maneuvering like a phantom in the sky. The Swat planes followed suit, as ordered.  
  
Knuckles had been asleep in front of the ancient shrine, dreaming peacefully. He still hadn't gotten over the green hedgehog, and often wondered about her. Perhaps she truly was as innocent as she seemed. And Rouge, maybe he should listen to her sometimes, she had to have good judgment if she posed a problem for him if the last time the Master Emerald broke. Opening his eyes slowly, his radar had started to beep. "Lousy thing, keeps malfunctioning, its only supposed the locate the emeralds." Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he stood and pick the thing up, and began to shake it, only to have the thing shot right out of his hands! It landed in a smoldering electrical pile. "WHAT THE-?" He whirled around just as Eggman was about to grab the emerald. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" Jumping and quickly gliding, he managed to smack Eggman's crane which was holding the emerald. It dropped, but thankfully, didn't shatter. "METAL SONIC, GET RID OF THIS PEST!"  
  
Metal Sonic swooped in at his speed, but unfortunately missed, Knuckles had seen him coming. The Swatbots began to fire rapidly. Knuckles quickly grabbed the Master Emerald and ran. Rouge, awakened by the commotion came to Knuckle's side to protect him. In a swift shot of speed, the Egg Hornet flew high, turned and managed to cut Knuckles off. "Alright Eggman.If this is what it comes down too!" Knuckles ran forward, fists held high, knuckles ready to pierce the metal with fury and anger. He landed quite a few hits, and was punching the machine well, Rouge kept Robotnik busy by constantly flying around his head. The explosions rocked the entire forest at Swat planes moved in and began to fire. Rouge was nearly hit by a stray laser, that got her angry. Flapping her back wings as hard as she could, she gained altitude, and distracted the lead pilot. The swat bot turned and quickly began to open fire, Rouge dived straight down, the back up, causing the robot to fire straight at Robotnik!! "AHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Screamed Robotnik as his Egg Hornet sustained heavy damage. Knuckles sighed in relief, but didn't notice Metal Sonic closing in, ready to shoot him down. Rouge, who was higher up, immediately noticed the danger. "KNUCKLES! WATCH IT! LOOK OUT!" Knuckles turned around, and when he saw Metal Sonic's jet come at him at top speed, he froze in fear. It looked like the end...  
  
Just when Metal Sonic was about to fire the laser that would ultimately end Knuckle's life, a stray green laser whizzed through the air, striking the right wing of his fighter. Immediately, the force of the blast sent the plane spinning out of control. Metal Sonic desperately tried to get the plane to stop is mindless spinning, but there was no hope, and the its thruster kept making it gain altitude. "WHAT THE?!!" an angered Eggman shouted below, watching the whole scene play out before him. A purple plane swooped down from the clouds above. "WOO! Wow Doctor, from all the commotion your making down here, I could've heard you from the space colony." No words could explain the gut twisting anger that Robotnik felt at the sight of Sonic riding on his beloved plain, his side kick Tails driving with extreme skill. Knuckles quickly spin dashed and broke into the run, calling out to Sonic as he lowered the plain, as if to land. "Get the Master Emerald out of here Sonic! I never liked the thought of you handling it, so don't break it!" He tossed the precious gem into the now snowy air. Sonic reached for it, almost missed it, but luckily caught it. Eggman quickly re-powered his Egg hornet and took off after them, when another explosion was heard, Metal Sonic had just crashed.  
  
This only caused the mad scientist to become angrier, and he really pushed down the accelerator. Swatbot jets flew in from all sides of the Tornado, but Tails easily dodged them, moving gracefully through the sky, he managed to destroy them all, leaving only Eggman to contend with. They neared a large mountain, its peak barely visible in the low hanging snowy clouds, this was Tail's chance. "Hang on Sonic!" Tails veered upward, leaving Eggman very confused. "What? Where did they go?!" He turned on his radar, but do to the high winds and snow at this altitude, he couldn't trace them. "Hey Egg butt! Looking for us?!" Eggman spun around, and saw Sonic and Tails appear behind him. Tails switched on a visor that allowed him to see the missile range. "LOCK! ON!" Tails cried. Opening the commanding switch, and pressed the button enthusiastically and yelled, "Fire!!" The missile fired, however, the Tornado began to shake wildly, as the fake emerald reversed the main energy of the engine. "Its out of control!" Shouted Tails as the engine began to over heat. "Bail out!" screamed Sonic, and he leapt from the plane, followed closely by Tails. The Tornado 2 shot electric beams from its interior, and finally, exploded, spraying debris all over the place. Sonic and Tails landed in a gigantic snow drift, the Master Emerald tumbling from Sonic's grasp. The missile which had managed to fire struck the back of Egg Hornet. "BLAST!" Eggman has the main weapon system began to short out. Punching a button, it dropped away, leaving only the Egg globe. Sonic leapt from the snowy pile and reached for the glistening emerald, only to have it snatched away by Metal Sonic. "Like I said, your getting rusty bro." Laughing, the evil robot turn and launched off, his systems working over time to power him down the snowy side of the mountain.  
  
"Oh no! He's got the emerald!" Shouted Tails.  
  
Sonic grabbed a piece of flat wreckage from the Tornado, set it on the ground, then with a leap, landed on it and began to snowboard down the mountain! He twisted and turned, moving like a pro through the all the logs and obstacles that came in his path. A snow ramp came up in the distance. Metal Sonic calmly ran over it, flipping beautifully and continuing his track. Turning his head, he saw Sonic hit the ramp with both speed and skill. Sonic arched his back pulling his feet in the air, twisting into a 360, he landed perfectly and continued on. Though Metal Sonic had a pretty good lead, Sonic began to close in. He inched closer and closer, and could only hope that the cliff side didn't end soon. Finally, he drew up to Metal Sonic's side, and tried to cut him off. If he made him lose balance, he knew there would be no way to stop him from tumbling at this speed, giving him the advantage.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" said a hideous voice right over Sonic's head. Eggman quickly punched a few coordinates on his panel, and the bottom of the Egg globe opened wide. A checkered ball dropped down and immediately began to swing back and forth! Sonic had to break away, other wise he would be smashed. He moved and began to press harder on the board, causing it to gain moment. Metal Sonic ran behind him, though Robotnik was careful not to hit him, losing the Master Emerald was a risk that was not to be taken. The ball swung back and forth, each swing at a deadly force, and to Sonic's horror, the mountain side's end was becoming visible. "Aha! I'm not so easily avoided Sonic!" Robotnik said, accelerating. Pressing a button, a red signaler appeared. "Take this!" Pressing it, the ball began to spin around wildly, but for some reason, more accurately. Sonic was on his toes avoiding every swish, and he was doing fairly well when he hit flat ground. Metal Sonic took off in the opposite direction, in hopes of tricking the blue hedgehog. Tails, who had been flying close behind through the whole ordeal however, saw the robot take off. "Sonic! He's headed toward the forest!" Sonic turned quickly and ran in the direction of the evil bot, Eggman hot on his trail.  
  
Metal Sonic weaved in and out betwixt the trees, holding the Master Emerald like a baby would hold on to his mother. No way was he going to lose to Sonic this time. Sonic blazed through the forest, trying to desperately keep sight of hedgebot. Taking another direction, he finally managed to cut him off. "Hand it over NOW!" He moved into a spin dash and jetted at Metal Sonic. Robotnik was just entering in, his "wrecking ball" spinning and swinging, when the unthinkable happened. Metal Sonic leapt into the air to dodge Sonic's spin dash attack, only to get smashed HARD by the checkered ball. He was flung hard to the ground, and the Master Emerald was shot into the air. Tails swooped down from the sky and caught it, just as it was about to hit a tree limb. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Robotnik as Tails and Sonic took off into the distance. The ball had hit Metal Sonic dead in the quills, causing it to retain heavy damage. In other words, it rendered it useless. He withdrew the ball just has Metal Sonic was regaining his feet.  
  
"YOU IDIOT!!!! YOU HAD IT! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU MESS IT UP LIKE THAT?!!!! GET BACK TO BASE, NOW! BEFORE I SMASH YOU AGAIN! AND THIS TIME IT WILL BE PERMENANT!"  
  
Metal Sonic scowled, but said nothing as he turned to head back to Robotropolis. "A part of me hopes he gets Sonic's wrath." He mumbled as he broke into a speedy run.  
  
***Angel Island***  
  
Sonic arrived back on the island, cold and out of breath. He had really given it his all out there. Tails, glad that he no longer had to fly, ran beside his buddy. They slowed at the borders of the once lush green island, the scene before them could only be described as "jaw dropping." Trees lay in ruins, and the shrine was no longer there. Fire had engulf some the vegetation, reducing it to a black ash that blew away with the wind. "Oh my God..." Tails said, as he walked upon the charred grounds of Angel Island. The battle had taken a precious toll. Knuckles and Rouge, however, were safe, and the moment they saw Sonic they glided toward him, a look of deep pain in their eyes. "Is it ok? Did you protect it?" asked an eager Knuckles. Sonic could only nod and hand him the shining emerald, its beauty still bright on this gloomy snowy day. With heads hanging low, they all slowly walked back to Knothole. Knuckles knew that he could no longer stay here, and the Master Emerald was in danger, now that Robotnik had come after it so fiercely.  
  
The residents of Knothole were very glad to build a temporary place for Knuckle's and Rouge to stay in. Donovan even built a small area for the Master Emerald to be contained in. Heavy hearted was the echidna, and he rarely came out, he always just sat in front of his gem, every now and then, a small tear trickled down his face. His home had been destroyed..  
  
***Mystic Ruins Very Secluded Area***  
  
Shadow and Melody had awakened very late in the morning. Melody was busy exploring the many nooks and crannies of the island. Though Shadow had said for her to stay only one night, he had to admit, observing her was interesting, so he allowed her to stay, despite the fact that he preferred solitude over anything. Melody messed around with a few small animals and tried to catch a few snow flakes with her mouth and hands. She settled under an oak tree, an old thought once again irking her.  
  
"Why didn't my creator want me..?" She thought aloud. "Its like, I am nothing, and was created for nothing. I have no answers, I just don't know.."  
  
Sighing, she rested her head and cried softly. It was a heart braking feeling, feeling unwanted. So many people had chased her off. One being Knuckles, and then Eggman, even the black hedgehog hadn't wanted her to stay. She didn't understand, it was like the whole world against her.  
  
Red eyes watched her from the shadows. The obsidian creature moved closer, feeling a bit sorry for her. He knew the feeling of not knowing any answers, and even today, he only answered a few of them. The death of Maria was one that would never be answered, or eased. Perhaps that's why Shadow preferred to be alone all the time. So he could keep himself organized and keep himself at peace with himself and the world. Sighing, he came from the bushes, staring at the now sleeping green hedgehog. "Maybe I am not the only one suffering on this planet." Staring at the gray cloudy skies, his eyes softened. "Maria..." 


	8. They All Come Together

Author's Note: To this day I still don't' see how I've gotten this far. I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am! Thank you to Rock Chick and Joe for their reviews!  
  
Chapter 8: They all come together  
  
***Story***  
  
Night fell upon the Mystic Ruins, the snowy clouds giving away to bright starry skies. Nocturnal animals made their presence known, as they lurked about their daily duties of hunting and living. Shadow had finally awoken from his long nightmare filled sleep, and he too, lurked about, not caring where he went or how long he traveled. Hover shoes traveled lightly, and the era of authority seemed to flow through him as he continued on. Should anyone stand in his way, they would be either seriously injured or simply knocked out the way. He moved like a phantom, silent and deadly. Red eyes blazed as he checked his turf. The smirk that found its way to his face seemed to dare a trespasser to cross his borders. But there was nothing, and the air was very still. Stroking one of his crimson streaked quills, he decided to give up scanning and just walk on aimlessly. Things hadn't been as peaceful as they seemed to be however, and Shadow knew it. It was like he could sense it. He hadn't heard from Sonic or any of the now called Freedom Fighters, nor did anyone ever come looking for him. Shadow had figured everyone would be out on a wild goose chase, looking for the hedgehog who had miraculously survived, but it was not so. It was quiet, too quiet.  
  
A feminine voice with a hint of concern broke him from his train of thought. "Hey are you ok?" Melody came from behind a tree, her aqua green coat bathed in the chrome light of the crescent moon that hung in the starry heavens. Her emerald eyes seemed to glow, rich, and soft, like a dove. Shadow was a bit surprised by her sudden entrance, and to his amazement, he wasn't very annoyed to see her.  
  
"I'm fine, but I was wondering what you are still doing here? I thought I told you one night only."  
  
Melody's look of concern changed to a look of sadness. She had grown attached to this little piece of land, and the thought of leaving it didn't go to well with her. Shadow, noticing her change of expression, turned his head away, it reminded him to much of Maria.  
  
"I suppose you may stay...." said the shadowy creature, black fur ruffling gently in a stray breeze. "Only if you tell no one of this place, or that I am here, other wise, I will make it the last mistake you've ever made." His voice had grown in serious, but if you listened hard enough, it did sound kind of forced. Melody smiled weakly. "You have my word..but can I know your name?" Shadow closed his eyes, thinking back to when he first uttered his name, Shadow. Facing her, his facial expression somewhat softer than it was before, he stared for a moment, then answered. "My name is Shadow, the world's ultimate life form." The green hedgehog gave Shadow a questioning look, but said nothing. Without another word, Shadow walked on, forgetting that Melody was even there.  
  
Melody stood there for a few moments, but soon, she began to go on a little walk. "He seems so lost.like a tattered soul." She stopped and looked back at the now empty path. "There has to be more to him then a sinister anti- social hedgehog.there's got to be." Curiosity finally drew her to follow him, as the oil colored hedgehog headed toward the same large hill he had spotted Mel on. Shadow however, was still deep in thought, his ever-clouded mind whirling around like a tornado, demanding answers but finding none. He came to the peak of the lush green hill, and settled on its top. Looking at the moon, he closed his eyes, and allowed himself to rest and gather his thoughts. Melody stood at the base, watching quietly and being careful so she wouldn't be noticed. Shadow, in a way, wished he was back on the Space Colony. It was so simple, he had what he wanted, and could watch the world below, turning daily.  
  
"Maria." He thought aloud. "Was this my destiny? To live alone in turmoil? Can I only grieve for the rest of my life?" His head bowed, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were sure to come. Melody was crestfallen at the sight of Shadow like that. Her compassion was high, and she couldn't help but amble up the hill and come to his side. "Shadow." she said gently. Shadow was too heart broken at the moment to say anything, he was fighting his emotions with all his might. Melody settled beside him, and out of sheer compassion, put her arm around him. Shadow didn't know what to do or say, but that gesture was so comforting, he didn't feel so alone any more. Melody pulled him closer to her. "Shadow, I don't know what you face, but I do know what its like to be alone, to be created and not know where you stand. You've shown me a kindness that no one has ever shown me...I just want to help you." The red streaked hedgehog could no longer take it, tears began to flow freely from his red eyes. He leaned against Melody, no longer fighting the burning pain inside his soul. He cried and Melody held him, and even though she didn't know exactly was so tormenting, she could feel just how misery he was in. The "Sonic clone" held Shadow all night, until they both passed off to sleep. The moon and stars gave away to daylight, as the ball of fire known as the sun rose in the distance...  
  
***Mystic Ruins Knothole***  
  
The feeling of the Knothole was rather gloomy. News of Angel Island's destruction brought many people down in their hopes of ever winning against the cold-hearted Robotnik. Others thought this was a case of win or lose, and they better play to win, other wise the mad scientist would be the dictator forever, sharing power with no one, and oppressing all. Sonic was glad to come home to Amy that day, and she welcomed him with opened arms (and plenty of kisses). Tails went to his own place, where he didn't come out to often, the destruction of the Tornado had made him very angry, it was, after all, his true passion. The sun's light crept delicately into the huts of the sleeping Freedom Fighters, awakening some, annoying others. Sonic was the first to stir. He rose from his bed, blue quills a bit out of place due to him sleeping. Heading toward his wash room, he straightened himself out, and went on outside. Amy, was already awake, and she was out and about trying to cheer everyone up. But it seemed like the only thing she was accomplishing was pushing everyone's last nerve. The blue hedgehog went to Donovan's hut, then Strider's, and got them up, he had something to tell the residents today. Donovan and Strider had been a very welcoming addition to the Knothole, Vincent was more of a pacifier and a peace keeper. Whenever people were upset, he was always there to calm them down or re-build their spirit to fight. Sonic went into a very large hut, constructed for one thing, and one thing only, organization for battles and important meetings.  
  
"Exactly what is on your mind Sonic?" Donovan asked.  
  
"We need to move in on Eggman, we need to know exactly what he is up to, and counter his plans. That last attack nearly cost us precious jewel and our lives." Sonic replied.  
  
Strider drew his sword and held it up in the air, its blade radiant in the morning light. "The Almighty help him should I find him vulnerable." He clenched his fist before putting it back in its sheath. "Curse that doctor."  
  
"Round 'em all up guys, I think its time to plan our first raid on Robotropolis."  
  
The 3 dispersed, and quickly gathered the residents. All came willingly, but none of them too eager, it was clear that the devastation of Eggman's last attack had taken a toll on their spirits as well. All came except one, Tails. "I'd better go lookin' for him, you guys all wait here." Everyone nodded and began to talk amongst themselves as Sonic left. Coming to Tail's hut, he knocked on the door. "Come in." said a sad voice. Sonic opened the door slowly, and peered inside. Tails sat at a desk, concentrating intently on something in front of him. His twin yellow tails where flicking up and down as usually. It was almost hypnotic if you stared at them to long. "Hey whats up lil' bro?" Sonic said walking in and peering over Tail's shoulder. In Tail's hands was a model of the Tornado 2, only it looked a little different and a bit more enhanced. It was blue with a lightning bolt on the side. "Is this what you have been working on?" Tails nodded. "I didn't realized how attached to that plane I was until Egg dork destroyed it, that's why I have been down lately, but I think my latest design will cure that soon." Sonic smiled, Tails was always designing or enhancing something, it had been his specialty ever since they had met. "Well I don't mean to bother you progress big guy, but we need to organize our raid against Robotnik." Tails's face lit up, he had been wanting to do something against Robotnik for awhile now. Rising from his perch, he followed Sonic back out of his hut and back into the "war room."  
  
Sonic took his place at the head of the crowd, and together, they worked on a plan to raid Robotropolis for the first time. Using Nicole, they generated a rough image of the most accurate map they had of the city of steel. There would be 2 groups. One would pose as a distraction, while another would raid the city for any useful materials or information. Sonic himself would try to use Nicole to access the main computer and access any files, but he doubt that would be possible this time, they barely knew what they where up against besides a hell of a lot of swatbots.  
  
"Then it's settled. Donovan, Strider, I'll leave the distraction up to you." Everyone nodded in agreement, no one objected. "Then lets go, on our first raid on Robotropolis, good luck everyone. We will meet when its dark, probably around 12. Yes I know that is very late, however, the more cover we have, the better." Everyone dispersed and readied themselves; tonight would be a busy one indeed. him ***Mystic Ruins Very secluded place ***  
  
Shadow awakened only a few hours later, he had slept very deeply in Melody's arms, and that served him well. Red eyes opened to a clear day, with the sun in the skies. A bit of snow remained on the ground, but it wasn't significant, only about an inch or so. He pushed himself free from the still sleeping Melody's embrace, and stretched his limbs. He didn't really understand what happened last night, but he felt strangely calmer. Walking down the hill and into the forest, the sounds of small animals about could be heard clearly. He walked on for some time, and even though it was in complete circles around the island, he felt like he was somewhere new with each step. "You could've told me you where up." Said a sarcastic voice from behind. Shadow didn't even look back. "Hmph" he muttered. Melody, who awoken only a few minutes after Shadow stood behind him, hands on her hips. "I don't get you.." she calmly said, and she walked on passed him. Shadow managed to smile. "I can say the same for you." Melody walked on without another word. Shadow ceased smiling when a crackling noise of dry sticks and leaves caught his attention. Someone was on his turf. Quickly, he "skated" across the ground, his hover shoes carrying him at a descent speed. What he beheld next really confused him. A strange robot paced the grounds, as if lost. It torso was red and white, with E-102 written on the side.  
  
One arm had a normal hand, on the other however, it held a gigantic laser gun. In the back floated a hover piece. Shadow followed him cautiously, as the robot droned something. "Location incorrect, must locate Station Square." It turned abruptly and began to walk away. Shadow, intrigued by this intruder followed it, not knowing Melody was behind him. She too had heard the noise and came to investigate. The strange robot lead Shadow and Melody far from their lands and through the jungle. It came to the now wrecked train area and followed the destroyed track to the steel city. Shadow was hot on its trail, but moved in such a way that E-102 didn't realize it was being followed. It came upon Robotropolis, and began to beep wildly. "Station Square located." It said. But then, it seemed confused again. "Subject: Amy Rose: Location undetermined, but not here." It droned. Shadow titled his head, why would the robot be interested in her? It continued on into the massive city, not knowing it had been detected. Shadow, mean while, was so wrapped in his thoughts, he didn't bother to follow the robot. Melody dropped to his side, startling the heck out of him. "Who was that..?" Shadow frowned. "You know its not wise to sneak up on me like that." Melody didn't say anything.  
  
Meanwhile, Metal Sonic sat alone at the main computer console, glad to be away from Robotnik who was making repairs on his Egg globe. All of sudden, the machine began to beep. "Monitor on" A screen flashed right on, showing E-102. Metal Sonic had never seen him before, but from the looks of the design, it appeared to be his master's creation. Taking out his walky talky like pager, he signaled Robotnik.  
  
"What is it?!"  
  
"Sir, a strange robot has come into our area. I would eliminate it, but it looks like one of yours. Its circuitry isn't of the Swatbots or worker bots."  
  
There was a period of silence.  
  
"I'll be right there."  
  
Metal Sonic continue to monitor, waiting for the doctor to show up.  
  
Shadow had yet to set foot on the borders of Robotropolis. It didn't seem like a good idea, due to the fact that Sonic had almost been killed here. He decided to wait until nightfall. "Mel." Shadow said calmly. "Better not set foot in there just yet." Melody nodded. Shadow stared at her for a long time, and a feeling rose inside him, that he had never felt before. It was a strange sensation, the same one he felt when she had held him that depressing night. Whatever it was, he hadn't felt that way since...Maria. Shaking his head and pushing those thoughts to the far back of his mind, he continued his watch of the polluted city.  
  
Dr. Robotnik finally came into the main control room and peered over Metal Sonic's shoulder. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of his old robot, but it his shocked face soon changed into a serious one. "Should I capture it?" Metal Sonic asked. Robotnik nodded. "I think I've found something to test this new program I've worked on. I discovered it while making repairs to the Egg globe. Electricity can be quite the weapon." Grinning deviously, he left, and to Metal Sonic's surprise, without so much as an insult. Pressing the alert button, he sent a fleet of Swatbots after the strange bot.  
  
Needless to say, a fleet of Swatbots against a very confused robot wasn't much of a challenge. They brought the red bot in, and Metal Sonic and Robotnik examined him, checking him for bugs or tracking devises. E-102 took a moment to scan the room, but when he saw Robotnik, again he began to beep wildly. "Robotnik...enemy! Robotnik enemy!" It raised its laser in a flash, but just as it was about to fire, Metal Sonic deactivated it. "Fool.." muttered Robotnik as it slapped the metal frame of Gamma (E-102). Picking up the mechanical wonder, Robotnik turned to Metal Sonic. "Monitor the area as usual, while I'll install this new stuff, don't bother me, or I'll have to do something very unpleasant to you." Robotnik left the room. Metal Sonic kicked the bottom of the door. "Good riddance, creep." He went back to monitoring.  
  
Nightfall finally spread across the area, covering Robotropolis in darkness. Monitor Swatbots patrolled the area, but none spotted Shadow, who's curiosity had sky rocketed over the passed few hours. There was a lot more Swatbots coming out now then there was in the morning. Finally, he could wait no longer. With Melody at his side, they carefully set foot in Robotropolis, exploring it, trying to figure just exactly what went on with that strange robot.  
  
***Mystic Ruins Knothole***  
  
The residents of Knothole had quickly gathered, and broke into their groups. Amy of course took Sonic's side, while the majority of them got on Donovan's and Strider's side. They would be the essential group of the plan, the longer they could keep Robotnik distracted, the longer Sonic had to try to access the control panel. Knuckles and Rouge decided not to attend, they rather protect the village of Knothole. Sonic stepped in front of the crowd. "Remember, this is a very dangerous mission, you all know what happened last time." This time, it was Tails who stepped forward. "Yes! But our freedom is worth it, Robotnik will fall someday!" A cheer rose from the crowd. "LETS DO IT!" Sonic yelled, The 2 large groups marched off to Robotropolis.  
  
Robotnik returned, with a newly fashioned robot behind him. His laser had been replaced by a strange gun, and he had 2 on both hands. Metal Sonic stared curiously, while Robotnik only smiled. Gamma had been totally reprogrammed, and its main hard drive had been totally removed and replaced by another one, so Robotnik would have its complete loyalty. "Say hello to the immobolizer." Robotnik proudly said. "It has very special rope like wires in these guns, designed for one purpose, to totally paralyze the victim it grabs a hold. However, it will only paralyze completely from the neck down. IF it grabs the person by the throat." Metal Sonic smiled, it was rather impressive. All of sudden, the monitor beeped. "And it looks like you will be able to test it out right away sir." Robotnik smiled, Shadow had been spotted.  
  
The night co9lored hedgehog moved through the city, taking the sights and sounds of the city. No swatbots had given him trouble just yet. Melody copied Shadow's every move, as to not put him in danger. They were so wrapped up in taking it all in, they didn't even notice the surveillance cameras recording their every move. Melody was a bit of a ways behind, so the cameras mainly concentrated on Shadow. "I don't see how all that chaos started with Sonic.." Shadow muttered. "It all seems so easy." Shadow, however, spoke to soon. "HEDGEHOG ALERT, YOU ARE AN INTRUDER!" shouted a strange voice. A lead swatbots followed by a fleet of 7 followers began to chase after Shadow. Melody fell back, and could only watch as Shadow spin dashed and evaded their laser blasts. Luckily for him, none had a roboticizer gun, Sonic had taken care of their last stash and more had to be made. Shadow moved as fast as his black legs could carry him. It was almost like a game to him, and he destroyed about 5 of the following bots. The leader commanded the last 2 to close on him. Shadow easily turned and spin dashed them into oblivion. He was having so much fun, he went straight for the lead bot, not noticing the immobolizer in the Shadows. Melody was to far behind to help him or warn him, but she saw the whole thing. Shadow leapt into the air, and was about to do a homing attack when he fired. The purple wire like lasso was laced with electricity, and it nailed Shadow, dead around his neck. Shadow all of sudden felt his whole body become numb, he fell from the air and landed with a hard thud. Robotnik almost danced with joy, he was watching it all through the camera. "Bring him in!!! NOW!" Melody shrieked in horror, and at that moment, Sonic and his crew just arrived. Not knowing what just happened, they moved in slowly. Melody was about to leap from her hiding place, when Shadow called out. "Melody NO!! GET OUT OF HERE! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, YOU CAN'T TAKE THEM ON ALONE!"  
  
Melody couldn't hold back her tears as she watched them drag Shadow away. Sonic, who had just realized what happened, sped after the robots, his anger fierce at the sight of one of his friends being dragged away. However, he didn't make it before they where beamed away. "NOOO!" Sonic yelled. Picking up a destroyed swatbot's laser gun, he opened fire out of pure anger. So angry was he, he didn't even realize that a stray laser hit a an essential wire to Robotnik's roboticizer. "GET HIM, GET HIM NOW, SEND THEM ALL OUT THERE!" Robotnik was furious, now he couldn't gain a new robot until the roboticizer was repaired, and Shadow would certainly make a good addition. Swatbots came pouring out of the main area, and drove the Freedom Fighters, who were caught off guard, out of the city. Sonic spotted Melody running with them, but he said nothing, he only destroyed a few swatbots, and reluctantly retreated, he could only hope that Shadow was ok.  
  
Back at Knothole, Melody was a wreck, and had to be held by several people to be stopped from plowing back to Robotropolis. Sonic was just as angry and worried, but he had learned by now not to just go back in there. Tails was working over time to figure out an emergency plan to help rescue Shadow, but it couldn't take effect until the security went down. It was night of hell for the Freedom Fighters..Shadow had been captured. 


	9. Impending Doom: More Loss

Author's Note: Number 9, Number 9, Number 9!!! I'm having so much fun writing it all, well anyway. Nothing much to say, accept for special thanks to: 0, Scotty CF, and Baby T, Son Goku, Metera, and "nameless" for their reviews! Please, if you do review could you at least put some type of name on your review? Its much easier to mention you that way! Now enough guff, lets get on with it! Note: This chapter is a bit violent in the beginning, but it's really nothing to fuss about.  
  
***Story***  
  
***Robotropolis***  
  
Shadow had been captured before, but that was nothing compared to the treatment the robots were giving him. The immobilizer's lasso held him in an unbreakable bind, his muscles and limbs could no longer be felt, as if they weren't there. The cold steel city was filled with pollution, with muck and mildew caked upon the silvery walls. Electricity hummed through the walls, lights flashed, and gadgets of all sorts beeped through the long narrow hallways. It was a very dark and bleak place for anyone to be, and Shadow even shuttered at the thought of being shut in this horrible place, and it looked as if this nightmare was only beginning. The former E-102 mercilessly dragged Shadow, never minding the sharp pieces of metal, dirt clumps, or muck that lay in his path. The black hedgehog tried desperately to get his body to respond, but the tight purple bond was doing its job, cutting all impulses and brain signals away from his muscles. Two guard bots followed closely behind, their scanners never stopped going, and they held two powerful laser guns, ready to blast any intruder or any obstacle that stood in their way. Finally, Shadow's long drag finally ended as they approached a steel door with a big Robotnik logo in the center. Pressing in a few keys, it opened up willingly, revealing an eager Robotnik and a curious Metal Sonic.  
  
Robotnik sat on a small stool in which he quickly rose from. He was rather surprised to see his former ally alive, and was pretty curious about just how he had managed to survive such a fiery death. Rubbing his handle bar like mustache thoughtfully, he said nothing at first, but just paced. Metal Sonic came to the guard swatbot's side, and calmly signaled them to leave, in here, he would make sure Shadow did not escape. The immobilizer came forward, its robotic voice droning through the air. "Your orders, sir?" Robotnik said nothing, but peered at Shadow, who was now giving him a pretty dirty look. "So Shadow.you're the one who was causing trouble in my city, destroying my precious swatbots. Now you know that's a naughty thing to do right?" He sneered sarcastically. Shadow only scowled and looked the other direction. "Now I know you don't like this little hold I have on you, but I can let you go, on one condition." Shadow's dark ears pricked. Eggman smiled. "I see I have your attention, ahem. Anyway, lets get to the point, here is the deal I'll cut with you. You return to my side, take your former place as my lead attacker, and I'll gladly let you retain your physical flesh and hide. However, if you refuse, I'll have you turned to metal, right before your girl friend's eyes." Shadow's red eyes widened, both out of shock and anger. Robotnik snickered. "Oh? Didn't think I knew about her? Well I definitely have plans for all of your little friends. I will spare that green girl, if you pledge your loyalty to me." Metal Sonic could only stare at Shadow, lying there, helpless on the ground. For some reason, he couldn't stare into his eyes to long; it was if he was feeling.compassionate. But how could that be possible? He just didn't understand.  
  
Perhaps there was more to him that met the eye. That AI installed in him, after all, had given him feelings, but, did it really give him the power to make decisions? The confused bot shook his head and paid attention to Robotnik, it was seriously stupid to even try to find logic in that. Shadow, who was now stuck in a really tough situation, was being torn between feelings. Sure, Melody had shown him her kindness, maybe even her love, but.would he really give himself up, for someone else? His mind began to race. His black lids closed. Back to the space colony, a flash back took him.  
  
"GET THEM BEFORE THEY ESCAPE!"  
  
They where running through a hallway, toward the capsule area, alarms blaring in their ears, alerting all personal to leave and evacuate immediately. Maria lead the way, Shadow behind her every step. They could hear soldiers running from behind, when a noise Shadow would never forget crackled through the air. A gun shot. Maria was all of sudden clutching her chest, and gasping for air, but she refused to stop going. Shadow was worried, but at the time didn't understand what was going on. She instructed Shadow to stand in the capsule loading area, while she prepared the capsule for launch. She weakly ran toward the panel, but instead of running back, she closed the capsule around here. Shadow, all of sudden aware of what was going on, began to pound madly on the glass, but it was to no avail, it didn't break. Maria, now breathing heavier as her body began to shut down, muttered her final words to her one and only friend.  
  
"Shadow, I beg of you. Do it for me, for a better future. For all people.on that planet, give them a chance to be happy. Let them live their dreams, Shadow, I know you can do it, that is why you where brought into this world. Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog." She pushed the button, launching the capsule into space, while she herself died that night, forever leaving a painful scar in Shadow's heart. Someone had died for him that day, and that was his only friend and love at the time. Now, it was his turn, he would do it for Melody, as she would've gladly done it for him. Metal Sonic noticed a tear trickle down his cheek as he muttered his answer to Robotnik. "I'd rather be metal then ever serve a disgusting creep like you!!" This enraged the mad scientist, and he stomped over, and kicked Shadow right in the back of the head, between his quills. Shadow winced, and though it hurt horribly, he refused to cry out. Metal Sonic starred at his creator in shock, he had just mindlessly hit another creature, not a robot, but a living creature. However, he didn't have long to dwell on this thought, for the furious Robotnik began to furiously shout orders. "TAKE HIM TO A HOLDING CELL. IMMOBILIZER, GUARD HIM, AND METAL SONIC, DOUBLE THE SECURITY AND TAKE OVER 2 HOURS LATER. IF ANY OF THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS COME, ALERT ME IMMEDIATELY, I DON'T WANT ANYONE DISTURBING ME, WHILE I GET BACK TO WORK." His face was beat red from screaming. "AND I WANT TO KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO FIX THAT ROBOTOCIZER!!!!" Without another glance at Shadow, he stormed out of the room.  
  
Metal Sonic didn't move for a moment, but he soon came to his senses, and allowed the robots to do their business. When everyone had left the main control room, he stood in silent thought, wondering just what came over him after that whole ordeal. Shaking his head, he settled himself in front of the main control computer, and gazed in the monitors. Even though Robotnik was irritable before, he seemed increasingly irritable every day. All Sonic did was insult him when they ever met, and though it angered him, he had never gone into a screaming fit like he did today. In fact, he had been isolating himself a lot lately. He was up to something. Switching on the main computer's hard drive, he scanned through it, searching for the cleared RAM he had opened up on command by Robotnik. He found it, but he found 2 files that he didn't know of in the main drive. One was labeled "PROJECT ANNIALATION" while the other was labeled. "POWER DOWN." Metal Sonic tried to open up the folder, but a memo flashed on the computer's large screen. "You are unauthorized to view this information." The computer switched off, leaving a dumbfounded Metal Sonic behind. Robotnik had almost giving him complete control of the area, but then again, he never explained why. Now that he thought about it, the doctor only came up to tell him that he needed to watch security, or view the status of the city. Other than that, he was rarely around, always down in his personal quarters, "finishing up his work." It occurred to the AI robot that he had to be doing more than just developing new machines or repairing them, he could come up with a new gadget in a heartbeat.  
  
There was something obviously frustrating him, the question is, what? Shaking his head once more, he went back to his daily monitoring of the robotic city. Mean while, in the quarters of the evil doctor Robotnik, many chemicals are brewing in his small personal laboratory. "Bah, come on, one of these combinations has to be right." Scanning his files and developing theories, he continued to test them with a small lab computer. "Combination faulty." The computer beeped once more. "ARGGGGGH!" screamed Robotnik, fighting every urge to not smash the computer clear out of the room. He did succeed in not destroying the computer, but he did hit the table, hard, causing a bottle of orange chemical liquid to spill into his formula. "NO!" Shouted Robotnik. Just as he was about to trash everything in sight, the computer began to beep incessantly. "Formula complete, estimated time until wear-off, one hour." Robotnik smiled, this time he would have that meddlesome hedgehog for sure. Taking out a special gun, he filled a strange dart with this chemical, and placed it on the now beaten up table. "To bad I can't duplicate this." he said holding up the now empty bottle of the orange chemical. "This is simply to rare, but I think once chance is all I need." Snickering, Robotnik began to gather his stuff. His communicator beeped. Picking it up with a scowl, he practically snarled into it. "WHAT IS IT, THIS BETTER BE GOOD!" Metal Sonic's familiar voice came over the speaker. "Sir the roboticizer will take seven days to repair." Without an answer, Robotnik switched it off and threw it across the room. This would leave a door for the freedom fighters to come rescue their comrade. Groaning, he re-picked up his communicator and paged Metal Sonic.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Prepare the swatbot fleets."  
  
"Of course sir, and the freedom fighters? Should they come and cause trouble?"  
  
"Destroy or capture them, whatever is convenient."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
***Mystic Ruins Knothole***  
  
The feeling of Knothole was very rough and gloomy. Many of the residents had almost lost their spirit to fight. They had been defeated again, tossed aside in a twist a fate. Some had even voiced that they should just move on and restart in a new, rural place. Free of Robotnik and his evil minions. But Sonic had rebuked them all, and tried to desperately rile them up again, by telling them that if they allowed Robotnik to rule that little piece of land that was once known as Station Square to the world, he would soon go in search of them, and either roboticizer them or wipe them out. Melody, who was by far the most upset resident in Knothole, was confined to a hut until she calmed down. She had fits through out the long evening hours that night, and they where afraid to let her go. The aqua creature could easily end up throwing her life away by trying to face Robotnik alone. While Robotnik had set Robotropolis on high alert, Sonic was busy making his own plan. He knew now, that no matter how fast he was or how much experience he had, this time he couldn't take out the evil doctor alone. They needed to re-organize and plan, maybe even train. Another thought bothered him as well, this would take time, and Shadow could easily be a worker bot right now, ready to annihilate them on sight should the come back to the city of steel. His white gloved hand clenched into a tight fist, that didn't matter, he had to fight back, for Shadow, for the survivors, and himself. The morning was only a few hours away. A moderate mist filled the chilled air, and dark clouds hung in the skies, preventing the diamonds of the sky from showing their beauty out in the night. But it wasn't like anyone would've noticed the stars anyway.  
  
Sighing and pushing back his azure quills, he made his way to the war room. He was surprised to find Tails sitting there, hunched over a pile of papers on the desk. "Whats up big guy? Your usually working on your dream plane." He chuckled good naturedly, even Tails smiled. "Well if you really want to know, I'm studying this map we have of Robotropolis, Donovan sighted the trash sight on the retreat last night. We need weapons Sonic, and I think if we need metal, here would be the place to find it." His tails flicked up and down with anticipation, he had a feeling they would come up with an effective plan this time. Sonic too, was grinning widely. "That sounds great, I never thought of that." Tails nodded, and began to speak again. "However, I'm not sure we didn't leave any damage, I noticed that there was a smoldering cable when we left the city, we need to investigate the city's status and lay out the plan. Donovan told me last night when he was guarding Melody along with Knuckles, that he has an experience with fighting and tactics. He offered to teach us some things, but it would take a few days." Sonic felt a bit of hope shoot through him at Tails's words, perhaps the spirit of Knothole had yet to be broken. "Then we must assemble Tails, and act quickly, if that is your idea." Sonic spun around and opened the door. "Since when are you such a good planner?" It was Tails's turn to smile. "Ever since we built Knothole." Shaking his head happily, Sonic left, it was time to once again plan against their evil dictator.  
  
Donovan and Knuckles where talking to each other, telling of each other's pasts. Melody had given up trying to escape and had calmed nicely, due to Knuckle's persuasive threats. Every time she threatened to give him a hard time, he would calmly hold up his fist, his steel like knuckles ready to deliver a devastating blow to her stomach. The green hedgehog wasn't in idiot, she knew she couldn't face 2 skilled echidnas; Donovan backed up his every move. Donovan told the crimson jewel guardian he was born in a rural region, raised from birth to be a protector of people and living things. When his parents had disappeared for some unknown reason, he was forced to live a life on his own, learning the basics his parents never taught him. Over time, he had learned how to move as stealthily as a wolf, and strike like a coiled up snake. Knuckles told Donovan of his many adventures of protecting the Master Emerald and Angel Island. The thought of his once beloved home brought a somewhat heavy feeling to his heart, but he had to admit, he felt better speaking of it. And so, over the course of a few hours, Knuckles and Donovan became friends, learning each other's skills and interests. Rouge mainly stayed home, only coming out when summoned. She too, missed Angel Island. Tails came running up from the war room, his twin tails whirling behind him like a propeller. "Hey guys, Sonic has called a meeting, go ahead to the war room." The 2 fighters nodded. "And Melody?" Donovan said. "I'll go too." Said an eager voice behind him. Melody stepped out side for the first time in 5 hours, a look of pure determination on her feminine features.  
  
Tails nodded once more, before taking off to gather the others. Strider had been thinking silently in the forest, his wolven face scrunched, as if he was frying his brain from thinking to hard. His metal sword gleamed in his hands; he had been the most quiet about this whole ordeal. He had sat here ever since they came back to their haven at night, thinking about just what he could for the residents here, they had to get their city back. Tails touched him gently on the shoulder, breaking his train of thought. He looked up as if he had just come from his trance, his dark green eyes glassy. Tails told him of the news, and went on. Rising slowly with a sigh, the phantom like black wolf went as told.  
  
They all gathered, none eager, and some of them asking why they were standing here. Some cried that it was a waste of time, and that they would all be killed should they go back again. Sonic was very upset about this whole massive gathering, if they were unwilling to fight, and were ready to give up at this very moment, then a defeat was already impossible to avoid. His eyes narrowed, and once again, his hands clenched into fists. Taking his place at the head of the crowd, he spoke forcefully.  
  
"I know that Robotnik has a high advantage, and I know that one of our own has been captured. But, for those who died that day, are you really going to let that Egg moron get away with that? Will future generations always live in fear?! I say to you now, make a choice. Rise up, never back down, don't look back, and never give up the fight and take back what is so rightfully yours. Or run and be destroyed by a dictator who has a soul as dark as the night. You decide!"  
  
There was a period of silence. Then, Donovan rose up, his eyes beaming in the night. Knuckles, and even Rouge came along to Sonic's side. "With you to the end, Sonic." They all said in unison. Strider smiled a smile of faith, and came to Sonic's side. Soon, all the residents of Knothole held their fists up and began to cheer. They wouldn't hide from Robotnik, no matter what the loss. Amy placed her hands on Sonic's hips and whispered in his ears. "I love it when you speak like a hero." Sonic's eyes soften, and he kissed her softly on the cheek. "We'll win Amy, I promise."  
  
Sonic and Tails discussed tactics on what their next move would be. Donovan, Knuckles, Rouge, and Strider, all agreed to teach dojo arts and sneaking techniques. Knuckles and Sonic would scout Robotropolis, looking for useful information and plunder. A group of freedom fighters would help along the way, by carrying any useful metal found in Robotropolis's trash heap back into Knothole. Tails and Vincent would fashion shields from this scrap metal, and would make a few weapons, but they doubt that ordinary metal weapons could be a match against laser guns. That night, every Freedom Fighter in the forest went to sleep, ready to work the hardest they had ever worked before, preparing for the great battle that was sure to come. Melody was particularly excited about this whole fiasco, was ready to put her life on the line for one hedgehog and one hedgehog only, Shadow.  
  
***Robotropolis***  
  
Shadow had been taken to a holding cell the minute the words left Robotnik's mouth. He had been flung like a rag doll into a musty cell; the only thing there was a small cot and muck. Thankfully, the immobilizer realized its paralyzing hold on Shadow's neck, and in the hour, he was moving freely. The robot kept walking back and forth, keeping a good watch, never minding the fact that Shadow kept homing against the bars or spin dashing fruitlessly. Try as he might, he couldn't break free from this horrible prison. Tired and exhausted, he settled down, closed his eyes, and pictured himself back home. He was back upon a lush green hill, over looking the tall pines, oaks, and young saplings that made up his home. Water from the jungle cascaded into the sea of perpetual green, giving the land a very homely touch that screamed for the soul to come and rest. In his little daydream, he felt something touch him and hold him close, a gesture that could only be out of love. Looking up with his garnet eyes, he saw Melody, her kind compassion filled eyes penetrating his very soul. He held her back, and for a moment, he felt at peace.  
  
Up in the main control room, Metal Sonic was working on security measures, sending out signals to all swatbot fleets that every precaution was to be taken. However, he didn't issue the kill on sight command, it wasn't necessary at the present moment. Viewing the monitors and checking the city's progress, everything seemed to be in order. His communicator beeped, an incoming signal from Robotnik had just came in. "Yes sir?"  
  
"Metal Sonic, I want you to call the immobilizer and send him to my quarters, he must be reprogrammed. You are to take over his duties until then. Is Robotropolis on high alert  
  
?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Excellent, set the main computer into auto alert, it will signal both of us should any of those meddle some people show up again."  
  
"Of course sir."  
  
"Robotnik, out."  
  
"That's strange." Metal Sonic thought as he did as he was commanded. Robotnik hardly ever reprogrammed robots, especially when they completed their first mission. Every day seemed to be growing weirder and weirder in Robotropolis. Setting the computer on auto alert, he left the main control room and headed down to the holding cells. Shadow had fallen asleep (miraculously) but by no means was he sleeping peacefully. Metal Sonic found himself glad that he was, he didn't want any trouble, and hoped that this patrol duty would end soon. Swatbots where hard at work on the roboticizer, each one redoing the parts of the wire with skill, it wouldn't be long before it was in full commission. Down in Robotnik's headquarters, Eggman altered the immobilizer's gun, and installed the special dart inside its barrel. There would be no room for failure in this; he had only once chance to pull off this attack, and only one hour to finish it. The chemical would serve its purpose and then disappear, never to return again in the doctor's grasp. Smirking deviously, he set to work on his next major project.  
  
The production of metal and robots had gone very well in his empire, and he set the worker bots on extreme labor mode as they began to put together the ultimate masterpiece. He shook with excitement as he laid the blue prints of the file he had been working on in the previous weeks. "This time..I will make sure no one survives."  
  
In the cover of darkness on that very long day's night, Sonic and Knuckles moved betwixt the trees, their movements undetectable and inaudible. Knuckles lead the way, while Sonic took to thee back, watching out for any danger as they headed to Robotropolis's borders. The steel city was noising and cold as they set foot upon its dirty grounds. Knuckles quickly began his mission, finding three very useful pieces of information using Nicole. A group of Freedom Fighters, lead by Rouge, entered in the main area. Should anything go wrong, they were to distract the swatbots at all costs. For a while, they moved undetected. The azure leader managed to easily find the trash heap and abstracted several nice chunks of useful metal. Rouge's group kept undetected in the shadows, and carried the metal back to their base. Knuckles had managed to break into the computer's main hard drive and steal a detailed map of Robotropolis, a few swatbot structure blue prints, and a laser gun blue print. He was also glad to find out that the roboticizer was offline, and Shadow had to be still alive. Moving as silent as mice, the group moved away undetected from the polluted city.  
  
***Mystic Ruins Knothole***  
  
The next days were filled with hard work and turmoil for the Freedom fighters. They where put under hard training by Donovan and Strider, while Knuckles around Rouge taught them sneaking and evasion skills. Tails, Sonic, and Vincent fashioned shields that where light weight but durable. Sonic trained under Strider's sword, dodging and weaving like a graceful beast, he learned to avoid quick thrust and sudden movements. Though the training and work involved in this sure to be massive revolt was very hard, the fighting spirit of the Knothole grew, and with that, the hopes of all people wanting to once again be free.  
  
One the sixth night, everybody once again met in the war room, sharing words of encouragement and adding the final touches to their skill. Tails, Sonic, and Vincent passed out the shields to everyone, and using Nicole, they produced the detailed image of the map of Robotropolis. After laying out the plans, everyone was ready to fight. Sonic would be the lead attacker, and Knuckles and Rouge would come in from the south side of the city, while Donovan, Strider, Amy, Tails, and the other Freedom Fighters came in from the north. They would try to get into the cell wing of the city, and break Shadow free. Even though the mission posed a serious threat to all of his or her lives, no one seemed unwilling to go. Knuckles, paranoid that someone was going to steel the precious Master Emerald, placed it inside his coat at its small form. They all knew they had to move quickly, the roboticizer would be completely repaired in a matter of hours.  
  
*** Seventh day, Robotropolis***  
  
Robotnik had been up all night working on Project Annihilation. He monitored all the worker bots who working extremely fast to put this massive robot together. The evil doctor himself would pilot the mechanical wonder, and its main metal frame would be hard to penetrate by any normal creature. It was constructed of black metal and alloy, its weapons include missile launches and a very powerful laser. Its main attack was its homing rockets, and its "foot thrusters" allowed it to shoot itself high into the air and fly off if necessary. A strange device was implanted at the very top of this weapon of mass destruction, and Eggman couldn't be more proud of himself. "Oho! The more I think of it, the better it seems, soon Sonic the hedgehog, along with the rest of the world will be under my control!" Laughing bitterly, he was about to re-scan his blue prints when the alarms began to sound wildly. Intruder alert! Small groups of people have penetrated the northern and southern borders. Robotnik immediately paged Metal Sonic. "Quickly, send out fleets of swatbots! Do not let them escape, annihilate them, capture them, what ever, JUST DO IT!" Switching it off, he ran to his quarters, it was time to put his special robot to the test.  
  
Sonic moved through the city like a blue blur, his running effortless and graceful. He headed in from the west side, glad the other groups were doing their job. He would breach the main security, and hopefully be able to find the dictator himself and end all this madness. Swatbots came pouring out from ever direction, and Sonic battled them with bravery only a true hero could possess. The 2 groups of Freedom Fighters on the north and south side of Robotropolis were doing much better, and fighting beautifully. The shields definitely reduced the number of injuries as they battle their hearts out. Swatbots where destroyed right and left, and every now and then, a shot found its way to human flesh or fur. Tails whirled his tails, cutting robots in half. The people of knothole used metal bars and shields to fight the seemingly endless army of mechanical menaces. Strider sliced through their circuitry with his well-handled sword. Knuckles and Donovan each expressed their true fighting skills as they over took the swatbots in front of them. Sonic finally reached the fighters and fought at their side, everything was going according to plan. Metal Sonic kept sending out fleet after fleet of swatbots, but the Freedom Fighters were fighting with force this time. Robotnik came plowing into the control room and knocked Metal Sonic out the way. Peering into the security monitors, he watched the group fight his mechanical army. The cameras began to short out one by one as the rebels began to destroy them. Robotnik knew now was the time to act, they where moving awfully close to Shadow's location. Turning to Metal Sonic, he quickly shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU STANDING HERE FOR? GET YOUR AIRBOURNE FLEET AND MOVE OUT!" Metal Sonic moved out, and with a group of AI Swatbots, got ready for battle. Robotnik punched a special command in the computer's panel, releasing the immobilizer.  
  
The Freedom Fighters where very surprised when laser shots from above rocked the skies. They dodged and moved quickly, still fighting bravely, though they where slowly being driven back. Something inside each and everyone however, kept them going, they wouldn't lose so easily this time. Sonic jumped ahead of the fighting fleet and continued his way toward the cell wing; they had to break Shadow out. Melody saw the hedgehog, and quickly followed him, a long with a small group of Freedom Fighters. Sonic moved like the wind, hoping, praying that Shadow was ok. He plowed through the alleys, Melody and the others hot in his trail along with a massive group of swatbots. The cell wing of Robotropolis came into view; they weren't to far now. "SONIC LOOK OUT!!!!!!!!" Melody's voice rang out as a purple wire laced with electricity shot through the musty air, catching the world-renowned hero off guard. Sonic was frozen in shock, when a green blur moved in front of him, taking the wire right around her neck. Like Shadow, she was immobilized almost immediately. Sonic, however, wasn't going to lose her like he did Shadow, spin dashing; he plowed in the robot, causing the wire to break. Melody was still paralyzed, but it would wear off in about 5 minutes. Unfortunately, that was more than enough time for a fleet of swatbots to grab a hold of her and carry her way. The robot and Sonic regained their feet, and the azure hero was just about to go after Melody, when something pierced him in the side. The robot had fired the special dart. The chemical was immediately injected into his blood stream. Gasping, Sonic pulled it off and threw it far away. To his surprise, he didn't feel anything, and he managed to spin dash the immobilizer into oblivion with a few well-aimed homing attacks and spin dashes.  
  
Cries from the freedom fighters signified another catastrophe had taken place. Knuckles had been leading an airborne attack along with Rouge and Donovan. They had held off Metal Sonic from hurting anymore troops, when Knuckles was knocked off course by a swatbot jet. He had spun in the air, causing the Master Emerald to fall from his coat. Metal Sonic immediately ceased this opportunity, snatched the emerald from the air by opening his cockpit, and zipped away, paging Robotnik about this sudden luck. Knuckles had bellowed in rage, but knew at the same time there was nothing he could do at the moment. The air was crowded with laser blasts, and a quite a few now laid injured on Robotropolis's grounds. "I'M COMING GUYS!" Came a voice. Sonic came rushing in, and spun into the ancient light attack. He took out several dozens of swatbots in a matter of seconds. "Keep going all of you, we aren't that.." But Sonic was unable to finish. He all of sudden dropped to his knees, grabbing a hold of his head, and shrieking loudly in pain. The leaders of the 2 main fighting squads noticed this, and quickly fought off the swatbots close to Sonic's position. Donovan and Knuckles rushed to Sonic's side. Sonic slowly rose to his feet, his head pounding, and his ears ringing. "Whoa...I feel, very weird." He said. Donovan and Knuckles continued to fight, knowing now that their leader was in bad shape. Sonic shook his head, he had to fight till the very end. He saw a nearby group of swatbots closing in on the Freedom Fighters, he could take them out easily enough.  
  
Or so he thought.For when he tried to run, he only fell flat on his face. "What the?" Sonic said wearily as he rose to his feet. Then it struck him, that strange chemical had sapped him of his super speed and ability to run. Robotnik was laughing and sneering with joy as he saw Sonic the hedgehog almost helpless against his fighting fleet. However, he never got a chance to capture his long time adversary, for the Freedom Fighters, knowing now that they had lost yet another one, began to retreat. They did notice however, that a lot of Robotnik's troops had been taken out, and it would take awhile for him to restock on his fighting force. But for now, they had to help their fallen leader. Carried by Donovan and Knuckles, Sonic was rushed from the battlefield, followed closely by the fighting force.  
  
Metal Sonic landed his jet into the hanger, and an eager Robotnik snatched the Master Emerald away from him. "You did something right for once, good job." The evil scientist studied the gem thoughtfully for a moment. "Freedom Fighter status?" Metal Sonic was fighting every urge not to scowl. "They appear to be retreating sir." This only caused Eggman to smile wider, its coldness showing through his very lips. "Excellent. Oh, and the immobilizer did managed to nail 2 victims, imprison her in a holding cell, but not with that black hedgehog. I'm surprised my own creation would dare go against me. But no matter, she is just refuse." Laughing, he left. Metal Sonic sighed, so long had he been taking this, and yet, an urge inside him really wanted to spin dash Robotnik right were he deserves it. The alarms died down as every last Freedom Fighter retreated from the city's grounds. Melody was imprisoned in a separate area, away from Shadow. Back at the Knothole, everyone knew that the loss of the Master Emerald could only mean double the trouble.  
  
Robotnik returned to the assemblage area, where the worker bots where finishing the touch ups of the main cockpit of Project Annihilation. It wouldn't be long now, and with the Master Emerald in his grasp, he could finally power his ultimate weapon... 


	10. Twisted Metal: An Unlikely Hero

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed chapter 9, it drained me of my energy to write all that. O_o Thank you Scotty CF and TJ the Shadow freak for their reviews!  
  
***Story***  
  
***Robotropolis***  
  
"LET ME GO!!!" Melody screamed as the Swatbots carried her down a musty narrow hallway, filled with muck and all kinds of mechanisms. Aqua green body failed to squirm or resist however, she had been touched in the back of the neck by the lasso of the immobilizer, cutting her brain signals off for about an hour. In the west wing, next to the hanger, was where the holding cells were located. It consisted of six prison cells, capable of holding 3-5 prisoners. (Depending on the size.) Shadow, had been alarmed by the whole controversy. As soon as the alarms had sounded through the city's walls, he knew a big battle was about to break out. The obsidian hedgehog had tried numerous times to break free and aid his companions, but it was to no avail. Robotnik had made sure that the confinement areas were secure and practically in destructible. It had been a long week for the clouded- minded prisoner. He slept most of the time, but never gained any energy. It was a nightmare filled sleep, consisting of painful memories and horrifying moments. One thing he had been grateful for however was that the Freedom Fighters had caused the delay in his roboticazation. The guards were always busy with something, whether it be battling a nearby disturbance or heeding orders from the mad scientist. Robotnik hadn't mentioned Shadow at all; it was as if something else was sapping him of all his time and energy. This surprised Shadow; he seemed so intent on destroying him after that refusal in the main control room. Metal Sonic came down every now and then, but only briefly, the former E-102 robot mostly guarded him.  
  
He was not prepared for what he saw when the door to the main prison room opened. Swatbots carried in a struggling bundle of green fur, or at least her head was going back and forth wildly. Her body was as still as an inanimate object. Shadow came to the bars of his cell and placed his hands on them, peering curiously at the fleet. His garnet eyes widened when he realized whom it was. "MELODY!" he shrieked. He banged on the bars and was like a mad animal, the swatbots and that annoying immobilizer had snagged yet another victim. The robots paid no heed to the black hedgehog enragement, and took Melody to the very end of the prison hall. There, they placed her in and locked her cell tight. Turning and marching back out, they left the two prisoners behind. Shadow finally ceased his futile struggle. "Melody...are you hurt, are you ok?!!" No response at first, but finally, Melody's voice came over the dirty air. "Yeah..I'm fine.I just feel so weird, its hard to breathe." Shadow paced restlessly, he just wanted to be with her, to comfort her, she did not deserve this, and no one did. Shadow heard Melody begin to cry, and immediately, he felt the compassion in his rise. Love was so strange, but it had Shadow by the throat. When he thought of her, he felt everything inside swirl into a tornado of emotions. But at the same time, it was a pleasant and welcoming feeling, a feeling satisfying to the very soul. But at the moment, it was a painful un-restful feeling, which consumed him. He couldn't be with her, he couldn't hold her tight and comfort her as she had comforted him in his time of pain. This angered him so much, he screamed with all his might. "YOU WILL DIE ROBOTNIK, I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT!!" His head bowed and his eyes closed. "Melody..."  
  
Melody was feeling the same way. she was crying because she was denied her wish to be with her love, Shadow. He was but a few strides away, but the steel bars of her holding cell and her being paralyzed prevented her from getting to him. The two were defenseless, and they could only hope that the Freedom Fighters would come back soon.  
  
***Robotropolis Robotnik's Quarters***  
  
Robotnik had been particularly happy about all of the action that had taken place a half an hour ago. He had captured Melody and Shadow, and even the Master Emerald. A computer scanned the jewel, doing a power estimate to make sure that it was the real thing. Unfortunately this time, it was. Snickering, the dictator pulled out his blue prints once more, not knowing that a lurker was in the city, a spy, who had secretly dispersed from Knothole and returned. His jet black fur mixed in well with the smoke pouring from the towers of Robotropolis, they where running high in their production of oil and metal. His green suit was a bit dusty and black from the collection of pollution. His navy blue waist sash was torn, but wearable. In his paws, he held Nicole. "Sometimes a fighter is got to do, what a fighter has got to do.." he muttered as he reached the heart of the city. Attacking was not his plan, but he knew one mistake could cause quite an uproar in the city's perimeter. He avoided the cameras, and stealthily slipped passed the swatbot guards. Strider's gleaming sword hung ready to use in his back strap. The wolf decided that he would do something to help the Freedom Fighters. Like Shadow and Metal Sonic, he too noticed that the dictator was acting rather strange. Robotnik knew he had the upper hand on the battle right now, so why was he so irritable and so darn cautious? It just didn't make any sense. He was keeping something from somebody, and that was his mission, to find out.  
  
Taking out Nicole, he opened her up. "Nicole, any mechanical machines headed this way?" Nicole beeped a few times, and finally responded. "No my main wolf, however, swat patrols may come by in the matter of minutes. I don't remember Tails sending you on this mission Strider." The wolf smiled weakly. "He didn't, but this is an emergency Nicole." Nicole showed a hologram of a frowny face, but that was all. "Nicole, is there a way you can pin point where all main computers are?" Once again Nicole beeped a few times. A small image of a map of Robotropolis appeared on the screen. Red dots appeared in various places, showing the locations of the computers. Strider smiled. "Thank you Nicole." Once again, no response from the chip. Closing up Nicole, Strider went down many pathways, and melted into the shadows, this was one of those one-chance missions. He gradually moved from the north side of the city, to the east side, where he found his chance. Robotnik was pretty obvious about where he stayed, a huge sign said step here if you need to be roboticized, and the Eggman logo in the center clearly said, "Robotnik's Quarters." Taking out his sword, he managed to trace the main wires leading into the building. Taking out Nicole, he ran a scan on it and found the computer wire. He gingerly removed the covering of the thick coating with his sword, and using a bit of skill, took Nicole apart in the back and hooked her up to it. "Nicole, download as many files as you can from this source." Nicole beeped and began to download. "This will take 5 minutes." Strider stood guard while the computer finished its work. Finally, when Nicole was complete, Strider removed the wires, replaced them back and even managed to cover up his tracks as he slipped away from the city. He had the information, now all they had to do was analyze it. Something in the pit of Strider's stomach told him they weren't going to like what they see.  
  
Robotnik was still intently studying the blue prints of Project Annihilation, totally unaware of the sudden hack of his computer. His face seemed to grow colder and evil with every detail he noticed, this one would surely not fail. The Master Emerald would power the robot. Located in the shoulder area of this mechanical wonder stood giant laser shooters, capable of firing an extremely accurate, not to mention painful, beam. Its interior was well suited for the doctor's need, and the boosters in the back would help its speed. "Feet thrusters" gave it the power to rocket up in the sky and even hover a little. But due to its bulky size, it could only shoot upward a few feet. This was useful, if Robotnik wanted to crush something. Its control would be smooth and easy. Its main attack would be an energy ball that was shot from the chest area. This would trap the attacker in the center of the ball of energy, and there would the real pain begin. It would ultimately destroy many living beings, but it would probably take a few for Sonic. Re-rolling up the blue prints, Robotnik placed them in a drawer and headed back to the south wing, in a deep underground part of the city were Robotnik was keeping both the Egg Carrier and his weapon. The worker bots had just finished the interior and controls. A few AI robots were revising the circuitry, while others began to prepare to finish the final finish of the project. It was a long tower that would come from the head of the robot. On the top consisted of a spear with a devastating weapon. It would send out a signal in the form of sound waves out into the air. They were going to be long lasting, so they wouldn't wear out in the course of time until being absorbed by a living animal. The signal would cause the brain to send out strange signals to the nervous system, causing a chemical to be produced in the blood stream. The chemical would collect and build up, forming metal and generate new systems, ultimately roboticizing it. He would use this finishing move to put the entire planet under his control. The sound waves would travel from region to region, causing every living- breathing animal to turn into a robot under his control. There was one set back however; he had to be at a specific elevation for this to occur. The ice cap mountain would be the perfect place to begin his domination of the entire planet. No doubt the Freedom Fighters would try to stop him, but by judging the machine's weaponry, it didn't seem like a real threat. Robotnik himself was free from the fear of being killed by his own weapon; the interior was lined with special alloys that would prevent the waves from affecting him. Laughing coldly, he knew it was only a matter a time before the day of doom for all living animals would come. Ultimately, he would finally have Sonic under his control.  
  
***Robotropolis Main Control Room ***  
  
Things in the main control room were relatively quiet. Metal Sonic was monitoring as usual, but he was barely paying attention to the boring screens. All the actions that had taken place really meant nothing to him. What was really bothering him, was well, himself. He had never had such a feeling of anger before, or any feelings at all. He was simply a robot that did what it was told. But after the upgrade, new and strange changes had begun to take place inside his mechanical insides. It was no longer a simple yes sir and seek and destroy type thing. No, it was now an emotional ride, with many twists and turns along its path. He had noticed it when Robotnik had shown him his anger or annoyance. What was happening to him? Why could he think and feel all of sudden? And the Freedom Fighters..did he really hate them? Or was that too slowly dwindling? Nothing made sense at all. His communicator beeped. Picking up and switching it on, Robotnik's sinister voice came on. "Metal Sonic, I want you to go guard the prisoners while I inspect the roboticizer, I'm sure we will have two new loyal members of our empire soon enough." The communicator beeped and went out. Leaving the main control room, Mecha Sonic headed down from the center of Robotropolis to the East wing. Shadow and Melody had been strangely quiet. The Freedom Fighters had yet to show up, and a sense of doom was upon them, like they would be metal in only a few short moments. Melody stood at the bars, staring into the garnet eyes of Shadow. She had regained her ability to move, and only wanted to spend these last moments gazing into the eyes of her loved one. Shadow shared a mutual feeling. The main prison door opened, and Metal Sonic silently walked in, his eyes narrow and bright red in the darkness. He glared at Melody and Shadow, trying too look intimidating, hiding his emotion. Shadow had no reaction, but Melody sure did. "Metal Sonic! Its you!" Shadow curiously looked up, how did she know of Robotnik's creation? Metal Sonic glared at her with a chilling stare. "I told you if that doctor found you, you would be killed, but you heeded not." Melody could only stare; even Metal Sonic had turned against her. He was no longer that concerned robot she had met when she was "born." Sinking back down to the cold damp ground, Melody buried her head in her hands. Metal Sonic refrained from looking at her, as he stood in the center of the room, keeping guard. 10 minutes slowly slid by, and no words were exchanged. Every now and then, a muffled sob could be heard from Melody's cell. Shadow had his eyes closed, trying desperately to keep himself from crying, he felt as if the end was drawing closer with every second. A beeping sound erupted through the tense atmosphere. Metal Sonic switched it on. "Metal Sonic, take the girl and Shadow to the roboticizer, its time to finish this.." At those words, the two prisoners leapt to their feet. About a dozen swatbots all of sudden entered the room, their lasers pointed directly at Shadow's head. "Take him." Metal Sonic said. An AI swatbot unlocked Shadow's cell, while the others kept their aim on target. The horror in Melody's eyes was unexplainable, they were going to roboticize Shadow before she had the chance to say goodbye. "SHADOW!!! SHADOW!!!!!" She began to cry hard. Shadow looked back, he too was now crying. "Melody..I.I love you!!" Those were his last words when the swatbots forced him to leave the room, leaving only Metal Sonic and Melody.  
  
Melody was sobbing her heart out, and Metal Sonic couldn't take it. The painful feeling returned to his insides, emotions were coursing through him. This wasn't real, this couldn't be happening. His communicator switched on. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! I SAID BRING BOTH PRISONERS, NOT ONE, I WANT THAT GIRL TO WITNESS THE DEATH OF HER BOY FRIEND. I'M SENDING THE FLEETS BACK WITH SHADOW, AND DON'T MESS UP AGAIN YOU WORTHLESS SCRAP METAL!"  
  
Metal Sonic felt the painful feeling slowly turn into one of anger. Melody, through a river a tears quickly saw Metal Sonic's emotion, and ran to the entrance of her cell. "Why do you take it?! Why do you let him rule your life like that?! Don't you know you are more than what you seem?! Are you going to take orders forever? Just be thrown aside like I was?" Metal Sonic glared at her, his thoughts, his mind, whirling in a hurricane of uncontrollable thoughts. The pain, the sadness, that was all that Robotnik caused, and now, he had threatened him again. He had been deactivated all those years, yet he still had faithfully served him, through thick and thin. But he was still treated like he was fresh from Robotropolis's trash heap. Melody's words began to reach him; he came to her cell just as the swatbots entered the area. "Time to go.Mel." He said, trying to look like he was enjoying this. "This is the end for you.."  
  
Melody cried harder than she ever had in her life as Metal Sonic began to punch in the codes for her prison cell. "Don't let Shadow die..please, at least let him go and get yourself out..you don't have to take this..Metal Sonic I beg you." Her head bowed in the despair. Metal Sonic stopped from putting the last digit in to open the cell door when images of Robotnik begin to flash inside his mind. He remembered all the lectures, the beatings, and the constant put-downs. His only demeanor was to destroy life..and Melody, she had done no wrong. But she would die too, and she would be forced to witness Shadow's death. But he couldn't go against Robotnik, no he couldn't! It was impossible, no way, he couldn't do it! His eyes closed and Robotnik's voice rang through his memories. "You worthless piece of scrap metal...you idiot...Get out of my sight.." His fists clenched, sadness was replaced by anger. Something came over the mechanical robot, he felt himself losing control. Curling up into a sudden spin dash, he took out every last swatbot surrounding Shadow. Standing up, he hit the last digit, and Melody's door opened. Looking down, refusing to look into her eyes, he knew he had done something that could not be forgiven in his master's eyes. Picking up a swatbot part, he flung it at the prison room's camera, destroying it completely. Shadow quickly ran to the now shocked Melody. The two embraced and held each other tight briefly, but quickly broke their long missed hug.  
  
Metal Sonic stood silently, staring at the ground, confused about what just happened. "Metal Sonic.." Melody said. "What are you doing..?" She still couldn't believe what happened. Metal Sonic looked up, his eyes blazing. "Get out of here! HURRY, JUST GET OUT OF HERE!!" Melody wanted to say more, but Shadow scooped her up and quickly skated from away from the holding place, leaving the remarkable robot behind.. The 2 hedgehogs plowed through the city, their only thought was getting out of this horrible city. Metal Sonic dirtied himself up a bit, and flung himself to the ground just as Robotnik was walking in, alarmed by the sudden out burst of clamor from the room. "WHAT! THEY GOT OUT?!! YOU FOOL! YOU FOOL!" Without so much as another glance from Robotnik, he left the room; it was time to get things ready, for it was a sure thing that the Freedom Fighters would be here soon.  
  
Robotnik quickly made his way up to the control center, to prepare the Egg Carrier for lift off. He wanted to destroy Metal Sonic so badly. That failure could really put a dent in his plans. However, Robotnik did need him, who would pilot the ship while he was out for battle? Pressing a button, an alarm sounded through the whole city of Robotropolis. "All personal report to the Southern Wing of the city, and board the Egg Carrier. All fleets prepare for battle." Robotnik paged Metal Sonic, who surprisingly answered. "What happened, HOW DID HE ESCAPE? ANSWER ME!" Metal Sonic spoke forcefully into the speaker. "He jumped me from behind while I was opening the cell door, looks like the swatbots weren't doing their job." Robotnik scowled. "GET TO THE EGG CARRIER AND LIFT IT OFF, ITS TIME FOR TO ME TO DOMINATE THIS PLANET, I WILL BE KNOWN AS THE DICTATOR OF THIS WORLD AND THE UNIVERSE!" Picking himself up, the now reluctant robot headed to the Egg Carrier. He got the main thrusters online, and began to lift off into the air. Robotnik, to his surprise wasn't aboard. "What could he possible be doing to prepare for battle down there? And what did he mean by his time had come?" Thought Metal Sonic as the ship gained altitude. Little did he know, that Robotnik planned to eliminate everything that breathed in oxygen.  
  
***Mystic Ruins Knothole***  
  
Sonic and the Freedom Fighters where preparing for battle when Shadow and Melody arrived. Everyone crowded in, very glad to see their two comrades alive. It brought back a fighting spirit that was almost lost in the last battle. Knuckles however only questioned about the Master Emerald and its location.  
  
"I don't know where your emerald is Knuckles!" Shadow insisted  
  
"We must get it back, NOW! IT IS MY JOB TO PROTECT IT!"  
  
"Are you crazy?!!" Said a random person from the crowd. "If we go back there we'll be killed!" Sonic was fuming; Robotnik had pulled his last straw. He was about to say something when Tails, Donovan, and Strider came running out. "SONIC!" cried Tails as he came to his hero's side. "What's going on Tails? Something happen?" Tails quickly shook his head. "No time for that, we have to get to Robotropolis, Eggman has a roboticizer that will wipe all the living things out in this planet if we don't hurry!!!" A gasp went through the entire crowd. "So that's what he wanted the Master Emerald for!" Screamed Sonic. Donovan stood up. "We need to get moving, if we don't hurry we will all be metal, and I for one WON'T STAND FOR THAT!" Everyone cheered in agreement, but also screamed in fear. It was an emergency battle, and this time, it was truly a life and death situation. Melody and Shadow hated the fact that they were headed back to the very city they were imprisoned in for so long, but they had no choice.  
  
The Freedom Fighters quickly gathered what weapons they could use. Lead by Sonic, they headed back to Robotropolis, knowing that time was not on their side. "It has come to this.." Sonic thought as he ran at an incredible speed. "I'm actually scared...for once I'm scared for my life.." He increased his speed, leaving the others behind. A wave of panic had gripped every soul, lynched any hope of a peaceful end. It was now or never, the final battle of Robotnik and the fate of universe would be decided on this final war. Who will win? 


	11. The Final Battle

Author's Note: SO sorry for the delay, lots of things have taken place. Any way, thanks to Scotty CF, Son Goku, and Joe for more of their reviews! Its definitely appreciated.  
  
***Story****  
  
Sonic the hedgehog moved like lightning, his crimson shoes and azure body were but a blur to the human eye. His arms held out for balance, he pushed his body to the limit, leaving everyone behind in his dust. Life was at stake, and this time, it was the entire planet's. It was not as if death would come on swift wings to take them all to another unknown world, but it was as if they were all on the break of being sold into slavery. Robotnik's evil clutches would have them at his disposal, should the Freedom Fighter's fail, and Sonic was one of the many souls out their ready to sacrifice themselves for the well being of the water planet, earth. The sky was cloudy and over cast, filled with dull gray clouds promising rain. Robotropolis would surely experience acid rain, posing an even more danger to the fighters; it was harmful to their skin and fur.  
  
Shadow and Melody were the last in the group, not surprisingly. They had witnessed the terrible evil and pollution in Robotropolis. The dark and dank musty dungeon of hell was the only way to explain the atmosphere within the city's walls. Life, life had no place there. The cold steel and electrical beams of energy in the walls are the only thing the eye can behold. The air is so thick with fumes of gas and fuel, you could barely breathe. It was almost as if Robotropolis had created an area of artificial night. Sun light was a rare thing to see in this terrible place, and the lethal heat was unimaginable. Melody and Shadow were imprisoned for a week in this place of horror, death, and robotics. Not even the most optimistic person could find a reason to be happy in the city of steel. The two hedgehogs kept a slow steady pace in the back of the running troops. There was not a word of hope spoken amongst the terror gripped heroes, they sensed the feeling of impending doom that Shadow had once felt when he was taken from his love to be roboticized. The threat had made its presence known once again, it was no longer just two hedgehogs however, it was the lives of all living, breathing things.  
  
The Freedom Fighters pressed on from the protection of the rural area of Knothole, to the heart of the Mystic Ruins, and finally, on to the very borders of the city of doom. No security cameras scanned the area. No yellow beams that sounded alarms when tripped scanned the many pathways and passages. Not a single swatbot patrolled the area; it was as if the Robotnik had deserted his once dirty domain. Being the first to arrive, Sonic slowed his pace down substantially as he entered the streets of Robotropolis, a lump of fear growing steadily in his throat. He couldn't wait for the Freedom Fighters; he had to find exactly where Eggman was and fast. Revving up his cerulean legs, he zipped through the city, his guard high, and his ears pricked with alertness. The central control room of Robotropolis came into view, its long tower pointing toward the unnaturally dark sky. Without a second thought, he plowed his way up to the main computer, which was beeping madly. Sonic stepped to its main terminal, where a large screen hung on the wall. It was on stand-by, and for some reason, the main power was completely channeled to the south wing of the city. No swatbot factories were in service. "Mondo weird." Muttered Sonic. "If the city itself doesn't hold the weapon we are looking for..then..what does it mean?" Sonic lifted his head slightly, when another thought crossed his racing mind. The others, they had to be arriving by now. There was no time for deep thought. Turning from the main computer, he quickly found his way back to the borders, where the other Freedom Fighters were just arriving. Tails was in front, Strider and Donovan were right behind him. Melody, who was now clinging to Shadow, was brought up by the obsidian hedgehog to the front. No longer did Shadow have such an evil confident look on his face. It was replaced by a distant stare, like he wasn't fully there. Sonic scanned over the future warriors, and turned away again, looking back at the city. Tails stared determinedly up at his idle, ready to fight for all of the living kind. Sonic jogged back into the city's territory, the others close behind.  
  
Meanwhile, in the southern part of Robotropolis, a very confident and happy Robotnik smiled. He knew Sonic and his friends were here, and they would be the first to experience his power and his terror. The pain he was ready to inflict on them would ultimately destroy them. But his real battle, he knew, lay with Sonic and Shadow. The duo would surely fight with a force unseen before, knowing that their freedom and lives were in danger. Rubbing his mustache and settling into the wide cockpit of the gigantic killer machine, the mad doctor would this time be ready for them.  
  
"I've been waiting, for this very moment for so long.." Robotnik muttered. "And to think, when it finally comes, I don't have much to say, but so much to do. Sonic the hedgehog will finally fail; I will finally have him under my control and along with that, the entire planet! Without their precious plane and Master Emerald, they aren't even worthy enough to behold my creation!"  
  
Laughter as cold as ice rang into the air and Robotnik started the ignition. A small warning alarm went off as the main cockpit closed up and Project Annihilation came to life. The missiles were loaded and ready to fire, the large accurate lasers were charged and ready to deliver a devastating blow to his adversaries. The Master Emerald did its job well in powering the weapon of mass destruction. The surface doors opened, ready to release its horror onto the planet. It wouldn't be long before Eggman would confront his long time adversary, and hopefully, it wouldn't be long before he had the honor of eliminating him. As the machine reached its full power, once again a cold deadly laugh rang into the dust filled air, his time had finally come.  
  
In the cover of the cloud cover sky the Egg Carrier hovered, its powerful boosters holding it aloft in the moist air. Metal Sonic strode among the main deck, garnet artificial eyes almost half closed. The scanners had detected the Freedom Fighters entering the city, and though Metal Sonic had no idea what exactly awaited them in this war, he could sense that a very significant and maybe bloody battle would soon erupt. He hadn't heard or seen any sign of his master, Robotnik. But in no way was he complaining. Metal Sonic had become almost neutral, lost in a sea of emotion sparked by a fluke in his programming. No longer was he a cold ruthless creation, set to eliminate life and obey orders. He was now a robot that could make choices and feel. Robotnik was losing his control over him, gradually, but surely. He had let go of the prisoners and even gave into his feelings of anger when Robotnik insulted him, but part of his loyalty remained intact with the devious scientist. The winds swept through the upper deck of the massive giant fortress, further proving that the storm was ready to release its power. Metal Sonic headed back up into the main bridge, where the main controls were. Pressing a few buttons and positioning himself in front of the pilot's chair, he activated the secret code that caused the chair to slide forward, revealing a switch. Stepping on it, the Egg Carrier creaked a few times, but slowly, the wings opened, and rotated, making it ready to increase speed. This also caused the main bridge to be blocked off, and it could only be reached through the Sky Deck. Setting the controls back to autopilot, he accessed the main drive and turned on the main censors. Two probe like robots came from the flying ship and headed through the gathering clouds into the city of darkness. They each held a camera, giving Metal Sonic a clear (well as clear as it could manage) view of Robotropolis. Spotting Sonic and his troops pressing toward the southern part of the city, he stared intently, waiting for something or someone to make its first move.  
  
"Tails, have you got a reading from Nicole yet? I checked the main control room of this city, but all I could find is that everything is shut down accept this part of the city. All the energy is being sent here."  
  
Sonic had slowed his pace again so his loyal side kick Tails could keep up. The young orange fox held Nicole and was typing wildly while scanning the area.  
  
"According to this, there is something about to be launched.."  
  
Sonic's eyes widened.  
  
"Launched?!!"  
  
The words had just left his mouth when the hold city began to shake. The Freedom Fighters quickly came together, and prepared to fight. Shadow took his place at Sonic's side; if faker was going to fight then he was going too as well. Knuckles and Rouge landed behind Sonic and Shadow. The red echidna looked pretty angry, he knew that Robotnik was using his jewel to power this terrible force. Though the Freedom Fighters were ready for the biggest battle of their lives, they weren't prepared for the sight they beheld. Smoke, dust, and more waste imaginable began to spew through the air. Laughter was heard as a gigantic silhouette began to take form in the distance. The sound of metal gears turning and functioning was clearly heard. The sound of a laser charging up could be heard, and radiant beams of light cut through the darkness of the city. Sonic's eyes widened, turning quickly, he cried as loud as his masculine voice could allowed him. "LOOK OUT!" The Freedom Fighters barely had time to move out of the way as a powerful purple laser shot through the air, its heat and power felt by all as it tore through the city, melting metal and causing major explosions. Sonic, Shadow, and many others picked themselves off the ground as the robot charged up for another blast. Tails gasped as he saw five fighters dead on the ground. "Scatter!" he called, and quickly whirled his Tails. Sonic however, bolted head long at the oncoming machine. Amy squealed in horror, and was about to run after her only mate, but Strider was ready for that. Amy ran a few strides, only to be grabbed hard by the collar and thrown backwards. She hit her head hard on a metal wall and was out cold. "Someone get her out of here!!!" Vincent grabbed the fallen hedgehog and rushed her out of there.  
  
Sonic, his eyes narrow with pure anger, zipped like lighting, dodging the small guns and lasers as he ran up the side of the tallest tower in Robotropolis. Eggman kept his robot going forward however, his target and real mission at the moment was make it to the ice cap mountain, then he could carry his plan out fully. Thanks to the hacked information Strider had provided at the Knothole, Sonic was fully aware of Robotnik's mission, and would do anything to stop him. Sonic quickly jumped into the air and curled into a tight ball, his spines stiff and sharp, ready to pierce. Moving like a phantom in the air, he aimed at the machine's massive back. Robotnik only smiled. "Not so fast! Get a load of this!" Pressing a button, the back thrusters immediately burst to life. Baby blue flames burst into the air, producing a terrible heat. Sonic hit them dead on, and was launched hard back into the ground. Tails, who had been watching this all unfold, quickly lead a group of Freedom Fighters to Sonic's location, they had to wake him up.  
  
"AHA! DIRECT HIT!" Screamed Robotnik, shaking with joy as he saw Sonic fall hard to the ground, quite a few burns on his stomach and his right ear badly burned. "THAT'S ONLY A TASTE OF MY POWER!" He laughed again, and increased Project Annihilation's speed. The robot massive feet crushed the small obsolete buildings of the once lively robotic city. It cleared the borders, and it approached the not to distant mountain. Knuckles and Rouge climbed the now partly destroyed control room of the city, and took to the air, flying like they've never flown before. Knuckle's sharp eyes held a terrible rage, five dead, and it was all powered by a gem, a gem that he should of protected. It was his fault that Eggman had gotten this far, and he would do his best to stop it. Rouge kept close at Knuckle's side, her face no longer sassy or arrogant, like it normally was. She longed for Knuckles to be the echidna he used to be, centered on one thing, his home and duty. Now he was terror struck and consumed by rage. He glided at a fast pace and quickly came to the steady paced machine. Robotnik quickly caught him on his radar, designed to detect organic life forms. "Oho! Well if it isn't knucklehead!" Pressing a few buttons, a joystick like lever became visible on the control panel. Robotnik grinned a cold terrible grin as he pushed a red button on top of the slender lever. Missiles implanted in the massive arms of the mechanical structure launched, and quickly homed in on the fighting pair. Rouge shrieked and flapper wings hard, gaining altitude. Knuckles quickly descended. The two homing missiles quickly changed direction and came right at them. Rouge expertly did an air summersault and dodged the attack. Losing its target, the missile did what it was programmed to do, self-destructed.  
  
Knuckles waited until he could practically feel the missile's heat, before digging into the ground swiftly, disappearing in the cold earth. The homing rocket did the same as Rouge's did as Knuckles returned to the surface. Eggman grunted, but paid no mind to the surviving pair, they were knocked off course for now. Knuckles shook himself clean of dirt, and held a fist up in anger toward the weapon, only to be knocked hard out the by a speeding oiled colored blur incased in an orange glow. Shadow would no longer take this, Sonic was down, five people, gone in a blink of a hedgehog's eye. Memories from his tragedy-filled past came to him as he skated across the land. He could see Maria, taking her last few breaths, another scene of them standing together, and yet of another of him banging on the glass, trying desperately to save his only friend. His garnet eyes closed, and he increased his speed, spin dashing, he zipped up to the Robot's massive feet, and grabbed a hold of its metal casing. "What the?!" Robotnik growled as his computers began to beep, indicating something had come aboard. "ALL SYSTEMS, FULL POWER! THRUSTERS ACTIVATE!" The bottom thrusters located in the legs of the mechanical wonder suddenly came to life, lifting the large robot into the air, and then dropping it hard back on the ground. Shadow clung desperately, he would not let go. Robotnik increased the robo's speed, lifted off the ground a few times, but quickly realized the stubbornness on Shadow's part. As soon as the robot stopped moving so violently, he managed to make his way closer to the torso of the gigantic weapon. He knew that with every step the project took, the closer it was to achieving Eggman's goal. Rouge finally recovered from the shock of the homing missile, and saw that Shadow was in danger. Robotnik had stopped trying to shake Shadow off, but her viridian eyes could easily see that Shadow was clinging on for dear life, it wouldn't be long before he lost his grip.  
  
Knuckles also saw the threat, but he couldn't fly like Rouge could, he could only watch from a distance as the majestic ivory bat flew off to aid the black hedgehog. Shadow was indeed slipping, but his garnet eyes kept scanning, he had to find something to either hit of grab on. Robotnik set the controls to steady, and the robot continued to trudge its way closer to its destination. "Its time to get rid of these pets!" he snarled as he headed down to the lower level of the cockpit. Turning on a computer, an image of what was behind the robot came on. Smiling, he decided if he couldn't shake him off, he would burn him off. But he also knew that this move would pay a dear price. The metal wasn't strong enough to take that kind of heat, causing it to melt. This would disable the thrusters, and cause the project to move slower, but he discovered its power source..  
  
Robotnik decided it was for the best, and pushed the button. Alarms sounded in the main area of the robot and the thrusters came on at full power. Shadow felt his hands burn in pain, as the metal quickly became an unbearable temperature. He clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out and fall to the ground. With tears in his eyes from the searing pain, he desperately searched. Just as he was about to fall hard to the ground, he noticed a medium sized panel in the middle of the bot's torso. "Is that...his weakness??" That was Shadow's last thought when he could no longer hold on, his hands finally lost their grip and he fell backwards. He closed his eyes, awaiting the hard impact the ground was sure to bring, when something stopped his fall. "You know, you hedgehogs are much heavier then you look." Said a familiar voice. Shadow opened his eyes, and he couldn't help but smile a little. "Rouge?" Rouge landed slowly on the ground and set Shadow down. "Yeah that's me, and now we're even." Shadow gave Rouge a questioning look; Rouge only smiled. "You saved me from being captured and imprisoned by the military, and I just saved you from a very bad headache." Shadow nodded, and turned his attention back to the weapon. "Rouge, I noticed that this thing has a something located between its thrusters." He stared hard at the moving robo once more. "Which seemed..to have melted. Weird." Rouge looked determinedly at what Shadow indicated and nodded. Without another word, she began to fly off and gain altitude, her speed increasing with every flap of her wing.  
  
Shadow watched on anxiously as she neared her target. Lowering her head and putting all of her speed into her glide, she hit the back panel HARD. The panel was dented. "One more time.." She muttered, and went in for another blow. She hit right on target, and this time, the little metal sheet gave away, revealing a beautiful gem, that could only be, the Master Emerald. "It's its power source!!!!" She yelled, and quickly dove in to retrieve the glowing gem. Robotnik was pretty angry now, he was so close. "COMPUTER! HOW MUCH BACK UP ENERGY DO WE HAVE?!!!" The computer beeped a few times, and showed a meter that read one hundred percent. Robotnik laughed once more, perhaps he wasn't in to much danger if they took back their jewel after all...  
  
"Gutha..!" Sonic mumbled when he woke up by a frantic Tails. He sat up, his senses a bit blurry, but they were already begin to clear up. His right ear hurt terribly, but he ignored it, he had to help the others. "Where is he? WHERE IS ROBOTNIK!" Tails quickly pointed in the direction of rubble and debris. Sonic clenched his fists and took off after him, followed closely by Melody, Tails, and the rest of the Freedom Fighters.  
  
Rouge came back to the back of the weapon, holding her hands out, she touched the Master Emerald, and began to pull with all her might. Knuckles jumped and glided to the robo's legs, and began to climb upwards, he had to aid Rouge. The Master Emerald was stuck hard in the main energy area, and it wouldn't budge. Finally, Rouge became impatient and began to kick it. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!!" Knuckles demanded when he finally came to Rouge's level. "SAVING THIS GEM, EVEN IF IT MEANS BREAKING IT!" Knuckles looked at the determination in her eyes, frowned, but began to help by punching it with his hard knuckles. They punched and kick cautiously, as to not send the shards in random places, instead, each one of them gathered the pieces and went in for more chunks. Finally, the Master Emerald was dislodged, and the jumped from the mechanical wonder, expected it to slow down and shut off completely.  
  
Sonic, Shadow, and the whole crew were soon and Knuckles's and Rouge's side. "Excellent work guys!!!" Sonic yelled. "I don't think Eggman can get too far without a power source." His hopeful quickly changed into an angry one, when Robotnik's voice over a loud speaker implanted near the head of the robot. "That's where your wrong Sonic hedgehog, the back-up energy is more than enough to get me the last few strides to the mountain. Looks like you've failed." To everyone's horror, Robotnik was right. He was dangerously close to the slope of the mountainside; it would probably take him 4-5 minutes to reach its very peak. Sonic was about to charge off after the mad doctor when Knuckles, who had just restored the Master Emerald, stopped him. "Wait Sonic, you can't take him on in your normal form. You need to transform into Super Sonic!" But Sonic shook his head. "No Knuckles, I can't do that if I don't have the seven chaos emeralds." Knuckles smiled. "I can call them, with this emerald." Shadow stepped up. "I'm fighting too." Knuckles held his hands over the glowing green emerald.  
  
"The servers are the 7 chaos. Chaos is power. Power is enriched by the heart. The controller serves to unify the chaos, only you can do this, CALL THE CHAOS EMERALDS!"  
  
Knuckles chanted as the Master Emerald began to spin wildly. It was bathed in an ivory electrical glow, and 7 different colors could be seen in the distance, coming to his location. They where yellow, green, blue, light blue, silver, red, and light green. Sonic and Shadow held their hands up towards them and quickly closed their eyes. The 7 mysterious jewels began to spin around them, and bring them through a portal of power. Sonic's quills began to pulse with energy and stiffen. They became a radiant gold, and his eyes, a flashing red. Shadow's did the same thing, and when the blinding light subsided, Super Sonic and Hyper Shadow hovered in the air.  
  
Looking at each other, they quickly went after the terrible weapon. Robontik saw them and activated the large lasers. The beams shot through the air, their deadly force felt by both of the flying heroes. However, when they did hit Sonic and Shadow, it only caused them to fly backwards. However, if he could ward them off, he would make it, he was only a few steps away. Sonic swooped in, dodging the massive laser and headed toward the back, Shadow followed. Sonic went at in incredible speed and slammed into the back panel where the Master Emerald once sat. Electricity shot through the robot, indicating a harsh blow to the back up energy. Robotnik bellowed in hatred as Shadow delivered another devastating blow. The meter sunk lower and lower, lasers and rockets fired mercilessly at the two incredible fighters, and though some of them did manage to hit them, it was far to late for Robotnik to recover.  
  
Shadow came around to the front, while Sonic delivered the last and final blow to the back of the robot. The robot began to shake violently, and soon stopped moving all together. Sonic joined Shadow at the front. "Now..its your turn Eggman!" Robotnik snarled and quickly pushed a large green button. Lights and radiant beams began to come to the center of the robot. "IT WON'T MATTER, I'LL AT LEAST DESTROY YOU!!" An incredible ball of energy emerged from the robot's chest. Sonic and Shadow quickly dodged, but it came back around, it homed right in on them. Sonic quickly went upwards, but Shadow dove downwards. At first, they were doing fine, until the ball of energy ascended upwards after Sonic. It was up to Shadow, now, to finish the job. Calling on all of his energy, he came in for the blow that would ultimately destroy the weapon and Eggman, when an ear splitting scream erupted from the sky. "SHAAAAAADDDOW LOOK OUT, THAT THING IS GUIDED!" Shadow turned behind him as the ball of energy came straight at him. He was frozen in fear all at once, it was like it he couldn't move. The ball closed around him, and electrical beams engulfed Shadow. All that could be heard next was the most horrible screaming anyone has ever heard. It was a scream only caused by great pain in destruction. "SHADOW!" cried Sonic as he swooped down to help his comrade, but it was too late. "Good bye, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!" called Robotnik, as he pressed a detonation button. The ball exploded, and the screams of Shadow the hedgehog were heard no more. Sonic quickly plowed through the smoke caused by the explosion, but Shadow was no were to be found. Robotnik's laughed erupted into the air. "YOU!!!!!!!!" Screamed Sonic. Before Robotnik could react, He came flying in, his eyes flashing a pure red, his pupils no longer seen. Robotnik's weapon was hit dead on, causing it to shake violently once more. Robotnik quickly sat back in his pilot chair and punched a few buttons into the arm panel. The cock pit opened, ejecting his egg globe out from the robot. Electrical beams shot through the robot, and finally, exploded. Project Annihilation was no more. Sonic felt his super form began to decline as the energy began to run out. Melody and the other Freedom Fighters, who could only watch the whole battle, were devastated by whole scene. Melody cried, Tails was silent, and a few cheered at the fact that they had won against Project Annihilation. But most were like Tails; silent and in shock.  
  
Sonic sunk slowly to the ground as Eggman flew off toward the Egg Carrier. He had won..the planet was saved. But, once again, lives were lost in battle, and the victory wasn't full like it was in the battle with Chaos. Bowing his head slightly, he thought of Shadow one last time before turning back to his troops, who were running up with Knuckles and Rouge in the lead. The crowd cheered and slapped Sonic on the back for doing such a good job in saving the world. However, Sonic only turned away, staring in the sky.  
  
"Sonic?" Tails said.  
  
"Yeah.?"  
  
"Its Shadow..isn't it?"  
  
Sonic nodded. He could easily hear the sobs of Melody increase as he stepped forward some more, gazing in the sky.  
  
"Knuckles, hand me a chaos emerald."  
  
"But Sonic, they don't have enough power to give you your super form back."  
  
"I don't need that. But I need to make sure Robotnik gets his own this time, he will be back to cause more pain. Shadow didn't have to die, and nobody should have, not by him. I will get you Robotnik..this time!"  
  
Knuckles picked up one of the now colorless emeralds, and handed them to Sonic. Sonic held his hand out, and called out two words. "Chaos control!!!" Before he could warp however, Melody grabbed a hold of him. "I'M GOING WITH YOU!"  
  
"MELODY! NO!" Tails cried, and grabbed her. The others grabbed on to Tails, and as a result, they were all transported to the Egg Carrier in one big heap just as Robotnik was landing on the main deck. Metal Sonic stood, watching it all from a distance. The explosion from the Project had damaged the Egg Carrier severely, since the debris had shot in the air. It was barely holding its altitude.  
  
"YOU AGAIN?!" Yelled Robotnik, as he quickly pulled his Egg globe up again. Sonic didn't say a word, he lost his temper for the first time in the whole war, and charge at Eggman in a mindless rage. Tails followed, he knew Sonic couldn't fly, but he couldn't help. Whirling his tails, he become level with Robotnik. Sonic jumped up and grabbed a hold of Tails's hands as he lifted him high in the air. Sonic jumped into the air and quickly did a homing attack. The blow dazed Robotnik. Sonic landed on top of the now shaking Egg globe. "All of these years, buttnik'. I've put up with you, but now I will finish this, FOREVER!!" Sonic spun harder than he ever spun before, light came around him, preparing him for the light speed attack. Robotnik's eyes widened. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sonic released his strong attack, causing Robotnik's egg globe to go out of control. It spun and was sent forward by the incredible attack, it headed straight for the flying fortress's wing. Melody and the crew where right below the wing, and they got a clear view about what was going to happen. The egg globe gained huge momentum and BAM! Hit the very center of the wing, caused it to break in half. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Robotnik was launched off in the distance, and was seen no more.  
  
The wing slowly began to fall. "SCATTER!" called Tails, and immediately everyone began to clear away from the path. Everyone, that is, accept Melody. She stood there, watching it come closer and closer, frozen in shock.  
  
"MELODY! LOOK OUT!!!" cried Tails.  
  
Sonic began running, but he was to far to save her now. Melody awaited for darkness to set in, for her life end that very moment. But instead, she felt something pick her up and pull her out of the way. The being was steel, but warm in a strange way. Her emerald eyes opened. "..Metal Sonic?" Metal Sonic didn't say a thing, he just kept running until he heard the crash of the wing on the deck. He placed her down. Everyone was silent for a moment, they had just seen Robotnik's creation rescue one of their own. Even Sonic was shocked. Before anyone could find their words, the ship began to rapidly lose altitude. "Melody! Come on!" Called Sonic as the group ready themselves to be chaos controlled back to Knothole. "This ship is going to crash!!!" Melody turned back to Metal Sonic. "Come on! Come with us." Metal Sonic stood there, he was actually being asked to go back with them. "You don't have to die here, your free now!" Melody said. Metal Sonic's eyes narrowed, he was free, it was time to let go. Running at Melody's side, everyone linked hands with Sonic and were transported back to the village of Knothole.  
  
Everyone picked themselves up after landing in a heap in the middle of their haven. They all stood in a circle, Metal Sonic in the middle. Everyone had a look of both relief and concern on their faces. Finally, Sonic himself smiled, and began to clap. Tails, and the rest of the survivors soon joined him. Metal Sonic didn't know what to say, so he only did what he was used to doing, stood there and said nothing. Nobody talked much, they constructed a hut in were Metal Sonic could stay in, and Melody bunked with him. Sonic and the crew met in the war room, to discuss the restoration of Station Square. But despite the fact that war and fight with Robotnik was finally over, the thought and sadness of Shadow, still lingered in the hearts of all. Nights and days passed. Many people had left Knothole to take down the rest of Robotropolis and restore Station Square and their lives. Melody preferred to be alone, and Metal Sonic spent most of his time out in the forest.  
  
Sonic and Tails set up a victory party, and all came and attended. There was much dancing and celebration. Melody however, stayed out on the borders, crying silently to herself, she missed Shadow, so much. Hours passed, and the partying continued. Sonic made tons of chili dogs, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. In fact, no body noticed a figure appear in the distant horizon. Everyone that is, accept Melody. Her eyes widened, as the figure began to take shape. He was dark and black, with red streaked quills. His body was battered and a bit burned, but he was moving ok. Tears welled up in her eyes. "...Shadow?" Shadow immediately noticed her, and smiled weakly. Melody screamed so loudly with joy, everyone ran out to see what the deal was, even Metal Sonic. Melody bounded over obstacles and gained speed. Shadow managed to break into a run. They both met and embraced passionately, Melody was crying all over again. Shadow was smiling and holding her tight, tighter than he had ever done before. Everyone was cheering and clapping.  
  
"But how did you..?" Melody began. But Shadow shook his head. "Does it really matter?" Melody smiled, and shook her head. "..No." The crowd gathered in front of the reunited couple, Sonic in the lead. "Welcome back faker." He said sarcastically. Shadow this time laughed. "I see nothing has changed." Sonic shook his head. "Are you joining the party?" Shadow and Melody looked at each other. "I think, we are both ready to go home.." Shadow said. Melody nodded. Sonic and the others nodded. Metal Sonic even was smiling. Shadow nodded toward Metal Sonic's direction, and the robot came forward. "Thanks Melody...thanks for setting me free." Melody smiled. Then, she stepped forward, and put her arms around his neck and gave him the first hug he had ever received. At first, Metal Sonic didn't know what to do and was shocked, but slowly, he returned the embrace. They held each other for a little while, before Melody stepped back. "Stay in touch, Metal Sonic." The robot nodded.  
  
Shadow put his hands on Melody's waist. She turned and kissed him, before they both ran to the top of the hill. Cheers erupted from the crowd, everyone was happy, it had been a true victory after all. Melody turned once more and called out to Metal Sonic, and jumped with Joy. Metal Sonic smiled, and held up a fist. "Thank you..." he whispered. Shadow and Melody turned to each other. "Lets go home, both of us." They said in unison. The two bolted down the hill, and across the land. They never stopped running, and they held each other's hand the whole way back. A beautiful secluded peninsula encased in with perpetual green came into view. Squeezing Melody's hand, Shadow whispered joyfully. "We are home..." Running to the very place, they first met, they settled down. Shadow leaned back against a small tree, and Melody settled in front of him. Resting her head against Shadow's chest, she let the gentle beating of Shadow's heart lure her to sleep. Shadow smiled, pulled her close, and he too fell asleep.  
And so, the Freedom Fighters regained their freedom, their lives, and their lost city. As for Sonic, Tails, Strider, Donovan, Metal Sonic, and Vincent, they decided to stay in Knothole, for it truly was their home. The battle was over, they had fought and won. A new day brings new Adventure, but for now, rest easy heroes...  
But not so far from the city, a certain human who is over weight and egg like groans and pulls himself free from his mangled Egg globe. He stands with his fist held hide in the air, a look of hell on his face. "This is not over Sonic the hedgehog! Tomorrow is another day!!!!!!!"  
The End.......Or is it?  
  
Author's Note: I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed each and everyone one of the chapters. I am so glad I was able to share the story that had been in my mind so long with you. But don't worry, there will be more coming. If you want to help with the Sequel (And yes, there will be one!!!) then post a review with you ideas! Thank you so much for reading, and special thanks to the following people.  
  
Joe  
  
Son Goku  
  
Baby T  
  
TJ The Shadow Freak  
  
Scotty CF  
  
Aliceamyrose  
  
Brandy B  
  
Rock Chick  
  
Niles Chiku  
  
Metara  
  
TCM Sonic Miles Prower  
  
Iluvblue!  
  
Metal Sonica  
  
And to anyone I may have missed. 


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